Ignis Rex: Ignition
by theawesomess1
Summary: The flames ignite in Book 1 of the Fire King series. An American is trapped inside SAO, and must fight his way out, alongside his friends. Together, they face the reality: power corrupts. OcXSilica. Sao w/ magic. OC mc. Mc is not op. AU of Failtastic Belt's 'Demon Slayer' series.
1. Chapter 1-Caught

**hello, this is my second SAO fic, my other one is called Shadow Reaper. Writing quality gets better as it goes on. Thanks in advanced! Please leave a review!**

It was raining on this late November afternoon/early evening as I run from my friend's house to home. The date is Wednesday, November first, twenty twenty two. The rain was soaking into my dark clothes as I ran, hoping to keep off the early chill signaling the coming of winter, and failing. I raised my dark backpack over my head, and that helped a little. 'So what if I sacrifice my Algebra II homework? I would rather not catch the flu!'. I splashed in a puddle on the sidewalk, now my new shoes are wet. I dashed through the posh neighborhood, and arrived at my house in San Jose, California.

I pulled out my key, on the front porch shielded from the rain. I inserted it into the lock, and slowly turned. I then eased the door open, glad the hinges were oiled recently. I snuck in, stepping carefully to keep my wet shoes from squeaking. Once inside, I kicked off the offending shoes, and carried them as I walked through the old-style house.

It was three stories tall, the first floor being the kitchen, living, and dining rooms, with an office(that was rarely used), second and third floors were the bedrooms. The house was a five bed, six bath house, and it was styled after the colonial times. Wood walls, wood floors, wood doors, wood ceilings. I almost made it to (you guessed it!) wooden stairs, when a booming voice called out through the house, making the very foundation shake. "STEPHEN NATHUS, GET IN HERE NOW!" The voice came from my mother, the owner of the house.

Her family left her with a large inheritance, many millions of dollars, and she married my father, who is living off of money his family left him, another many millions of dollars, and stock investments.

I walked into the office. Inside, bookshelves dominated the walls, with a single desk in the center, with a Windows computer on top of it. My mother had her glasses on, and was looking at the screen.

"Algebra II, eighty nine,Chemistry, eighty seven, English II, eighty eight, Japanese, one hundred, world history Advanced Placement, eighty five, computer science Advanced Placement, ninety, animation, ninety two." She took off her glasses, and flipped a strand of bleach-blonde hair out of her eyes. "Explain now!" She demanded, not looking from the screen.

My family wants me to be perfect. To make perfect grades, have perfect manners, look perfect, and none of that has even become close to achieved. I was great in school, I just never did my work on time, causing point deductions for being late. "I have been focusing on other things right now…." I replied tentatively.

"And, what in the name of everything holy, have you been focusing on?" She demanded, and started typing on the computer.

'My social life, making friends, and the like' I thought, but my words were way different. "Public relations." I hoped she wouldn't understand what that meant.

"So… your social life… you spend way too much time with that girl. " she said, still focusing on the computer. She was referring to Natsuki, my friend, and Japanese foreign exchange student. "And why is this more important than your studies?" She took off her white rimmed glasses, and looked at me. "And why in the hell is your hair a different color?"

I averted my eyes at the mention of my now white hair. Earlier that day, I had my friend named Natsuki dye it, from it's natural dark brown. "I… I like it better this way" I muttered.

"What are you going to do next? Wear colored contact lenses?" She scoffed. I winced, that being exactly what I was going to do, turning my blue eyes black. "And, why is your Japanese score higher than your English score?"

'This brings me to what I actually want to talk about!' I thought. I opened my mouth, but at that moment, the front door opened, and slammed shut.

My father came into the room. "Hello, family!" He said, patting my back, and hugging Mother. After letting go of her, he looked at the computer screen in front of her. "What do we have here?" He read the results, and sighed. "Stephen, come with me." He walked out, his suit swishing on his body. I obeyed.

He led me to the kitchen, where he took off his jacket, and lay it over a wooden chair by the bar countertop. He then opened a wine refrigerator below the counter, and pulled out a red wine. He looked at the label, and grunted with satisfaction. He reached into a cabinet above him, and withdrew two glasses, filling one with wine, and putting a few mouthfuls in the other. He pushed the less filled one towards me, but I shook my head, hating the taste of alcohol. He shrugged, and downed mine in one gulp.

"How to put this" he started in his gruff baritone voice, scratching at the dark brown stubble appearing on his chin. "Your mother may seem overly strict, but she just wants what is best for you. Ever since you were little, we saw that you have a keen intellect, and you have proven that by skipping a few grades!" He let out a little chuckle. He sipped at his red wine, and replaced the bottle. "Only thirteen, and a sophomore in High School!" He chuckled again. "She just knows that if you wanted to, you could already be halfway through a university!"

"But I want to be a game designer! I want to go to Japan, and work with Sony!" I said, exasperated.

He sighed, putting the now three quarters full glass down. "And I know that, and I support you"

"She doesn't!" I snapped. "She wants me to stay in America, to go to Harvard, and be a fucking lawyer!"

"Hey, watch your language. She is your mother." he growled.

"Yessir" I lowered my head.

"She thinks that you will be more successful in the law field than in the game programming field, she just wants you to have a fulfilling life. By the way, how come you are making a perfect score in Japanese?" He asked.

'Finally, time to make my proposal'. "I think Mom should be in here for this." I said.

He nodded, and called out "Hey, Martha! We are in the kitchen. I think you should be in here".

We heard the sound of her six inch high heels clomping on the wood. She came in, a sapphire blue dress hugging her perfectly shaped body. "Yes?" She challenged.

I stood up, brushing some of my white hair out of my eyes. I breathed in deeply, and exhaled, pulling a folded sheet of paper out of my pocket that somehow remained dry. I unfolded it, and started my proposition.

"I have been chosen for the foreign exchange program, a chance for me to study in another country" I started.

"What country?" My mother cut in.

"Japan" I answered.

"Isn't that where that girl is from?" My mother asked.

"Yes"

"When is she leaving, by the way?"

"Friday, in two days." I said.

"Hmm… and when do you leave?"

"Same day" I said slowly, not liking where this was headed.

"And what family is taking you in?"

"Hers'"

"Hmm" she squinted, already against it.

My father checked his watch. "Well, would you look at the time! It's already nine! Time for bed, son!" He came over, and hugged me, whispering "Don't worry, I'll butter her up for you." I backed away, mumbling thanks, and walked up the stairs.

First, I went to my bedroom to grab a set of nightclothes. Then I went to the bathroom, to shower and change. Feeling the almost scalding water run over my body felt like bliss after the freezing rain.

'I wonder if Mother is going to accept it' I thought to myself. I stood there, staring at the white tile wall in front of me. 'If she doesn't, I know that Father won't let me go'. I sighed as the steam rose, it was a sigh of exasperation and bliss.

I shut the shower off, and got out. After drying myself, I sneezed. 'Damnit!' I cursed. 'I ran as fast as I could, but I still got sick!' I sneezed again before I could continue my mental berating.

I dressed in the loose flannel shirt and pants, gathered up my other clothes, and left the hot bathroom. I walked across the hall towards my bedroom, and walked in. I shut the door, and heaved a sigh. I dumped my clothes into a hamper in the corner of the room. It was about three hundred fifty square feet, with a queen size bed in a corner. The walls were soundproof, as well as the door, so I was isolated in the room. The walls were a deep, dark purple, my favorite color. The carpet was also purple. I had a mahogany desk next to my bed, with drawers. I walked over to the desk, and booted up the pc on top of it. After it booted, I opened Skype, and sent Natsuki a pm.

"Hey, you up?" After sending the message, I made sure my webcam was hooked up right.

"Hai" was her response. She continued in Japanese. "Want to talk?"

"Hai" I answered in her native language. I looked at the intercom above my pc, and saw it was turned off. It was there so my parents could call me from anywhere in the house. I opened a drawer, and pulled out my headphones. I plugged them into the pc, on the side audio jack, and she called on Skype. I answered.

Her picture came online, and we waved to each other. I pulled the microphone down from the headset I was wearing.

"'Sup" she said, a similar set on her head.

"Nothing, you?"

"Nothing, except Algebra is kicking my ass!" She had bubblegum pink hair, with cotton candy blue highlights. Her eyes were naturally black, and I saw she didn't have her colored contacts in.

"Ha!" I teased. She knew I am a math god. "Shoot!"

And for the next fifteen minutes, she would give me a math problem, and I would solve it in my head, and without giving her the answer, walk her through it.

"Damn, how are you so good at this?" She asked, her mouth agape.

"Easy!" I laughed. "I just ask her the lesson plan, and google how to do it the night before. But staying awake during class helps also"

She snorted, waving me off. "Yeah, yeah. Hey, how did the 'rents like your hair?"

I lowered my eyes from my screen. "Eh, you can take a guess"

Ever since she arrived early this past summer, her and I immediately got along. I was wicked smart, able to solve any problem in my head, and was bullied for it. She was the noob, and she was bullied for that, and everyone thought that because she was Asian, she would be good at all of this. The reality was very close to the truth. If she paid attention in class, she would make perfect scores on everything.

"Well, have you pitched the idea of coming to Japan with me?" She asked.

"Yeah, I even gave my dad the paper."

"Aaannnnddddd…." she waved me on.

"And my dad said he would butter my mother up" was my answer.

"Shoulda seen it commin'" she pulled out a small box out of her pocket, and popped some gum into her mouth.

"So, wanna play somethin'?" She asked.

"Sure, what you got in mind?" I immediately knew her answer though.

"Yugioh, of course!" She cried.

"And I should have seen that coming" I smiled at her, as I drew out a flash drive, plugging it into the pc. I pulled up the up the game, and challenged her. After about another hour, I checked the time on my screen, after I lost…. again at the card game she introduced me to during the summer.

"Hey, gotta go. I at least sleep during the night…. unlike a certain pink haired friend I know….." I teased.

"Whatevs Stephen-chan" she said. We both waved.

"Bye" I said.

"Later"

I signed off. After checking my email, I shut the pc off. I took the headset off my head, and put it back in the drawer.

I then pulled out what looked like a military grade earwig from the beginning of the century. The main differences between the military issue and mine were that mine have much better sound quality, range, and battery life. And Bluetooth capability. I put one in each ear, and connected them to my phone, turning on some Apocalyptica, which I listened to until I fell asleep, at which point, the music auto shut off.


	2. Chapter 2-Nerdy Things

**sorry for the confusion before, I meant to hit the "OcXSilica" button, but I was thinking about a fic I read about Liz, and accidentally hit the "OcXLiz" button. Thanks to Failtastic abelt for catching that!**

 **shoutout to my reviewers from last chapter: Thunderwolf7226, Guest, Failtastic Belt, and eugeoyuu. Thanks for the support!**

 **thanks and shoutout to my new beta ('cuz I know I make grammar and spelling errors), Thunderwolf7226**

I woke up at five thirty, my usual morning routine starting. I took out my Bluetooth earwigs, and put them into the pocket of the pants I was going to wear today. I took those jeans, and a purple t-shirt into the bathroom, where I showered, and changed. I then made it back to my bedroom, got my white socks and purple Nike shoes on. I stood up off my bed, put my phone in my pocket, along with my house keys, and finally slipped my arms into my jacket sleeves. I looked at myself in my bedroom mirror, and used my hands to make my hair look decent. I then decided it looked okay, and walked downstairs.

I entered the kitchen, where I pulled out a bowl and box of cereal from a cabinet. I poured myself some, and started munching on it while I looked at the news on my phone screen. Someone had been murdered, stock prices were raising, general economy was doing great. 'Yeah, great compared to ten years ago!' I scoffed. Still standing, I finished my cereal, rinsed the bowl out, put the bowl in the dishwashing machine, and headed for the door. I grabbed my bookbag (which was empty save for a Windows Surface), and jogged out the door.

Once outside, I put in my earwigs, and Apocalyptica came back on. I smiled, 'Thank you homemade AI system'. I jogged down the street, towards Natsuki's house, and waited outside her door patiently. I may be a real computer geek, but that does not mean I fill the stereotype. I am one hundred fifty seven centimeters tall, about average height, also being forty six kilograms, again, just over average, doesn't hurt either. I participate in marathons (of course, I never finish anywhere near first), and I can jog for many kilometers before tiring.

I stood outside Natsuki's door, thinking about a problem I am having in computer science, and how to fix it, when she came out. I heard a noise over Apocalyptica, and saw she had opened her door. She was wearing tattered and frayed jeans (which are somehow still in fashion) a bright purple shirt, and her multi-cotton candy colored hair. She was eating a Hershey's chocolate bar on her way out. I raised my eyebrows. "Isn't that a little odd for a breakfast?" I asked her.

"You're a geek! Didn't you know that chocolate is good for you? It releases thingies or whatever that-" I stopped listening after "thingies".

"Yeah yeah" I said.

"Also, you forgot this at my house yesterday" she pulled out what looked like a Bluetooth earpiece, one of the small, five centimeter long black sticks.

I sighed, taking it back and putting it in my ear. The difference between these, and normal Bluetooth headsets, is that these have screens. I didn't wear it with the end pointing at my mouth, instead, it was directed towards my eyes. "Yo, Scas, open my eyepiece."

Scas, or more appropriately S.C.A.S. is a computer software I developed. It is similar to Siri, except it has more of a mind of its own. S.C.A.S stand for System Controlling Authoritative Software, and it does as it's name suggests.

The 'eyepiece', as they are called, I have I modified to hook up to my phone, which in turn, sends audio data to my earwigs.

"Yeeeeessir bossman" I heard, and all of a sudden, a little blueish screen appeared in front of my right eye. It held all the data from my phone, and had all of the capabilities my phone had. I looked in the upper right hand corner, and saw "host battery 100%", which was my phone, "Extension battery 33%". 'Eh, ok. That will be enough for a day and then some'.

"Thanks Scas" I said, and started walking.

"Anytime bossman". I heard, and the little eyepiece went to sleep, the screen disappearing.

Natsuki caught up. "Lookin' forward to tomorrow?" She asked. It took me a moment to realize she was speaking in her native language.

"Hai, I am. Can't wait!" I said in Japanese.

"Damnit!" She cursed at me. "I keep hoping to catch you off guard, you little midget!" Since we are in the same grade, she is fifteen, almost sixteen, so, I actually have to physically look up at her. I laughed at her, very amused at this.

"Well, I am completely bilingual now…. soooo….." 'thank Microsoft for Rosettastone.'

"Bite me" was her response.

"Gladly. Little barbecue sauce… little steak rub…." I could feel the flavors now. "Except one big problem…. you are very bony" I gestured to her very slim figure.

"Hrmph!" Was her undignified response.

We walked in silence, our usual morning banter out of the way. We turned on the next street, and faced our high school, oddly named "Future High". It was The Top School in the nation for mathematics, science, computer science, and robotics. Many modern inventions came from this school. Many tech companies won't require you to have a degree as long as you came from Future High.

The building itself was five stories of steel and glass, held together by the most advanced 'spit and bubblegum' on the market. There were floating Super Bowl sized Jumbotrons saying around, announcing the school news. This place was more advanced than any university known to man. One of the giant screen decided it would be a good idea to annoy me. It floated next to me, advertising McDonalds at the school, now open. "Scas, hack into that thing, and play My Little Pony." I smiled.

"Yessir bossman" and the screen went static for a moment, and then the newest episode popped up.

Happy with my mischief, I glanced out the corner of my eye to see a techie open his eyes wide, and speak into a handheld radio. The screen shut down, and floated away. Natsuki was giggling behind her hand. "Wow, good one. I didn't know how long I could have stood that!"

"Yup" I agreed. We walked to the giant, teen foot tall steel doors, leading into the school. The school used to be a prison, which held all the worst baddies from the world. Eventually, the death penalty came back, and they were all vaporized with brand new laser technology. This gave the government an empty building, so, Apple, Microsoft, and Sony teamed up to create this school for tech, the catch was that they get dibs on the graduates.

The inside main lobby was the size of a football stadium, with computers lining the walls, tables set up with the many clubs trying to get more volunteers. There was so much noise, I could barely hear myself think. The press of the many bodies also didn't help, since I was the shortest in the school. I stayed beside Natsuki, and prayed she knew where to go. She took out her phone, and typed on the screen: "hey, I see the robotics table, wanna go?" After reading this, I nodded, and she led the way.

Once we finally arrived, I checked it out. There were people with VR headsets on, using their iPads and Surfaces and Android Tablets to control various equipment that they built, form an Erect-a-set car to an actual flying rc chopper. I stared upon them, unimpressed. The kid sitting in front of us, obviously the prez of the club, looked at me. "Can I help you?" He asked.

I sighed. "No, but I can help you". I grabbed one of the helicopters, and a philips screwdriver from the table, and started what looked like field surgery.

"The hell are you doing?" He demanded. He was about to reach over, and take the materials from me, but Natsuki stopped him.

"When he gets like this, nothing short of a Nuclear Winter will stop him."

The prez grunted, and sat down.

The heli was about twenty four centimeters in length, with twin blades on top about the same length. I removed the single d-cell battery inside, and replaced it with four AA ones. I then rewired the whole thing using needle nose pliers on the table. After closing it back up, I took off the blades on top, and replaced the, with a pair double the length. I explained as I went along. "You had the forward camera, motor, and diagnostics engine running off a single d-cell. By exchanging that with these AAs, the battery life will be cut in half, but the speed and power will increase five fold. Then, obviously, we could not run all the wires from the one battery compartment, so I have to rig another one up…. now that is done. The blades on top are not long enough to sustain high speed races, which is why this squad always loses. By elongating them, they can carry a lot more"

"But won't that require more power from the motor?" Asked one geek.

"Yes, which is another reason for the AAs" I explained, now finished.

"Ahhhh" he said. The nerd kid put on the VR set, and took out his iPad, and started the little heli. It zoomed everywhere, nearly three times the speed. "Wwwooowww! You were right! This will really help us! Thanks!" He took off the set after landing the heli. "I'm Dave, he's Rick" he gestured towards the prez. "Mind joining the club? You were right, we can use someone like you!"

"Sorry guys" I said, "I'm leaving for Japan tomorrow, so I can't join"

Dave looked downcast, so I continued. "But, next year, I will" he lightened up at this.

But of course, being a sour apple, Rick had to spoil everything. "You have to be at least fifteen to join. And how old are you, shortstack?"

I blinked in surprise, and lowered my head. "Thirteen"

"Then scram, kid" he said, standing up.

"Hey, you're just jealous that this little kid wiped the floor with your ass! Stephen-sempai is smarter than you, and you don't want him showing you up!" Natsuki came to my defense valiantly. 'Stephen...sempai?' I thought, looking at her. Her face was flushed with the anger of her friend being sidelined.

"Ooooh, you must really like him to be that defensive!" Said Rick, and I already had the assumption he was a jerk. "Sempai….. more like kun!" 'He has obviously seen enough anime to understand honorifics'.

At this, I expected Natsuki to explode, but she went from an offensive stance, to a cocky one, her expression matching it. She spoke in rapid fire, and it took me a moment to understand it. "Yes, kun would be a good replacement, since kun can be used for lover and for a really close friend. I would be glad to refer to him as Stephen-kun" I blinked rapidly in surprise.

In Japanese, I said "thanks".

"Don't mention it"

Rick looked indignant for a moment, and then got his composure back. "Okay then, but he still isn't allowed to join the club!"

I continued in the foreign language "Scas, hack his phone, and change the background, playlist, ringtone, and everything else you can think of to the most embarrassing thing possible."

"Yeeeeesir bossman" Scas replied in my ear.

"What?" Asked Rick, not fluent in Japanese. Natsuki was laughing at my command to the AI, and gave him a,knowing look. "What?" He demanded again. Natsuki and I looked at each other. Laughing, we walked away.

"Done, bossman" said Scas.

I nodded towards Natsuki, and she understood.

"Yo, what time is it?" I asked Scas.

"Seven sixteen" it replied, "Four minutes until the start of school".

"Thanks" I told my friend the time, and we headed off to Algebra II, first period, where I already learned how to do everything the weekend before via google and YouTube, so I slept the whole day.

After school ended at two thirty, I followed Natsuki down to her house. Once there, she invited me in, and she shouted "I'm home, Mrs. Finch!" As usual.

The response came, "Okay, make sure you and Stephen don't do anything funny!"

"Don't worry ma'am" I called, "She is safe"

We entered her room, and the familiar inside greeted me. The posters for Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch, and Nirvana on the wall, the stereo system in a corner with a pc hooked up to it, the large pinch bed, pink everything.

"Oh, I got word today of a new game system, only being released in Japan!" She said excitedly. "It runs on VR software, but while in game, your body doesn't move!" My eyes widened. I was trying to create that same exact thing, and failing.

"Wow, that sounds interesting, when does it come out?" I asked.

"This Saturday" she exclaimed. "I already preordered two of the consoles, called NerveGear rigs, and two copies of the first game to come out, a mmorpg called Sword Art Online, or SAO for short!" She pulled out her tablet, and swiped and tapped a few times, handing it to me. I saw the back of a game box cover, saying things like (of course, in Japanese) "revolutionary graphics interphase" and "one of a kind interactive system!". What caught me was "the only mmorpg without a magic class!" I blinked rapidly in surprise.

"Well, this Kayaba guy" I said reading the name of the main developer, "is really making a bold move. An RPG without magic? No one has ever done something like that!"

"I know, right!" Natsuki squealed. "I checked every website I could think of, and everybody in there is waiting for the game to come out, 'cuz the hype is sooo high!"

"Well, that is if my mother agrees to let me go" I said.

"Yo, bossman, you got a text from your father" I heard in my ear, the robotic voice of Scas. "Reads: 'Got her to say yes, come home early to pack your things. Have fun!'. Should I reply?"

"Yeah" I said aloud, "Message: 'thanks a lot!'"

"Done bossman"

"Soooo" prompted my friend.

I nodded, smiling. "I am off to Japan!"

 **Would love to hear form you guys! Even if it is "this story is a load of bull"! Please leave a review on your thoughts!**


	3. Chapter 3-Arrival

**thanks again to my reviewers: Guest, Failtastic Belt, and eugeoyuu! And to my beta, Thunderwolf7226!**

Thankfully, it wasn't raining that day, so I made my way home around my normal time (sixish). I walked through the front door, and called "Here!" Out to the house. I walked upstairs to my room, dropped off my jacket, shoes, and Surface case. Sighing, I sat at my computer and booted it up. After it finished, and the desktop appeared, I opened my coding application, and stated finishing my project.

"Scas, turn on Apocalyptica" I said.

"Yeeeessir bossman" said my little AI, and the band started playing again in my ears. I tuned out the world, and started figuring out my dilemma.

After about thirty minutes, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped up, startled. Apocalyptica paused. I saw my dad at my side, laughing. "Seriously?" I said. "You could have just texted me!"

"But that wouldn't've been as fun!" He replied. He took his massive bear sized paw off my shoulder. "Your mother and I packed for you…. and bought you a kimono!" He brought his other hand from behind him, and showed me the purple robe. 'You...have….to…..be…..shitting me' I thought.

"Umm, dad?" I said.

"Yes son?" He asked, an expectant expression on his face.

'Ugh, I can't tell him I don't want it'. "Thanks! I love that it's in purple!" I grabbed it, and falsely admired it. I then folded the kimono up nice and neat.

He beamed. "Well, considering everything you wear is that color, I guessed at which to get you"

"Hey, where is my suitcase?" I asked. "I am going to need at least seven sets of clothes."

"It's downstairs, waiting for you now" he took the now folded garment back. "I'll put this up. Oh by the way" he said, squinting over my shoulder at the computer screen. "The reason your code isn't working is because you forgot a semicolon." He pointed in the screen at the offending line. I groaned.

"Figures!" I fixed it with a keystroke.

That night, I could barely sleep, even with total silence and some Z-Quil. I finally woke up after an hours sleep, and hopped out of bed. My flight was at seven exactly, so I got up at five, thirty minutes before my usual time. I did my morning routine, in record time, and came downstairs for breakfast. I saw my dad flipping pancakes. Usually, when I get up, he and my mother would be already gone, giving stock advice to other rich people(and going to parties), so seeing him inside the kitchen is rare.

"Ummm. Dad?" I said.

"Yup?" He answered.

"What'ya doing here?" I asked, making my way to the table.

"Making pancakes, what does it look like?" The smell of cinnamon and vanilla flooded my nostrils as I inspected the scent. "And, I threw in your favorite flavors!"

"Fine" I said, pretending to still be skeptical, since I knew his favorite flavors were cinnamon and vanilla as well.. "But it isn't like I am staying for the rest of my life, or anything!"

"Well, I did make twenty of these things by accident, so eat your fill!" He slapped a plate heaped high in front of me.

I smiled wickedly. "Challenge accepted!"

Ten pancakes later.

I pushed my plate back, groaning. "I….win" I managed to get out.

"Ha, you had the advantage of a head start." He grunted.

I laughed, and immediately regretted that decision as my stomach hurt with the tension. I stood up, and put the ceramic plate in the sink. "Thanks dad". I said, heading for the door. I put on my jacket, and picked up the suitcase, and my Surface case. "Well, see ya".

"See ya" he repeated, and waved as I walked out.

As soon as I was out the door, I headed for Natsuki's house. "Hey, Scas, send Natsuki a message, ask her if she is ready"

"Yeeeesir bossman" he said. After a few seconds, he continued. "You got a reply. It say: 'Duh, you midget! You better get here soon, or we will drive off!' I think you better speed up, bossman"

"Thanks for worrying, but she won't leave." I laughed, the tension in my filled gut having eased a little. I turned onto her street, and saw Natsuki stuffing a duffle bag in the back of a SUV hybrid. When she finished, she caught me eye.

"Hey!" She called.

"Hey" I replied. I walked up, and shook hands with her current temporary guardian, a woman by the name of Ms. Winston. Her husband died a few years ago of leukemia, widowing her. She fills her time by accepting travelers from other countries. "Hello ma'am" I said to her.

"Hello. Stephen" she said. "How are you today?" She asked.

"Very anxious" I replied honestly. "You?"

"Sad to see Natsuki go! Well, at least you will be back in a year or so, right?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am! But until then, manga, anime, and hot pink hair will fill my life" she laughed at my response.

"Well, climb in! The airfield is still a while away!" She ushered me into the back seat, beside Natsuki.

"Ready? Seat belts in?" She asked.

"Yup!" Replied Natsuki and I in unison. Ms. Winston started the car, and drove.

"So, ready for Japan?" Asked my friend beside me in her native tongue.

"Hai, more than you can believe! Somewhere I can have bleach white hair, and not be stared at, somewhere where playing a kids' card game isn't a reason to be ridiculed!"

Natsuki laughed at this, understanding my plight all too well.

"But, what is even worse" I continued. "My family bought me a kimono, probably to meet your family in, so I seem to understand their culture better." She raised her eyebrows, and ushered for me to keep talking, as I sounded like I wasn't done. "And I know that if I show up in the robe, that your parents will be in American clothes, and if I show up in this, they will be wearing kimonos"

She started giggling again in her high pitched voice. "And you know I will tell them in advance which you are wearing, just so you feel more uncomfortable!"

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, making the both of them giggle uncontrollably.

"What are you two talking about back there?" Asked our driver.

"Just about how out of place I will feel in Japan" I answered.

"Ahh" she said, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Don't be making miss Natsuki pregnant now, her parents would not like that!"

My face flushed at her words. "That doesn't occupy all of my thoughts!" I exclaimed loudly.

"Then why are you blushing?" Asked Natsuki. "Also, am I not good enough for you? Huh?" She poked me in the stomach teasingly.

"Seriously? The both of you?" I demanded, trying to keep her from tickling me further.

"Yes" said both females in unison.

'Oh, damnit.' I thought. 'How to turn this against them!'. My mind came up with something. "Oh, Natsuki… I didn't know you liked younger men like that!" I said. This made her flush.

"You little brat!" She squealed. She redoubled her efforts to tickle me.

We arrived at the airfield. With the invention of Pod Travel, or pt, airplanes are used by people wanting to take the scenic route. Instead, the rest of us got into a cylinder tube, about four meters in diameter, and three meters tall, with two chairs inside. This pod was inside a long tube, that connected two countries. Once the people were inside, a pneumatic door would shut, and seal. Then, pressurized air would push the pod at speed past mach ten, over twelve thousand kilometers per hour, through the tube. The passengers would arrive at their destination in a matter of minutes, or in our case, less than one hour. We changed into these black skin tight jumpsuits inside bathrooms, and got into the tube. About halfway through, there was a junction where all pods stopped, and then turned one hundred eighty degrees, this was to prevent people from arriving at their destinations upside down.

Our luggage was strapped down beside us in the clear cylinder. The black suites were too keep our bodies from spilling everything everywhere. We wouldn't feel the pressure change from aboveground to below, but the extreme speed would definitely give us headaches in the morning. There was an attendant making sure our harnesses were on correctly, and telling us the rules, like "keep your hands and feet inside at all times" and "do not exit the pod until it comes to a complete stop".

White a bored look in attendant asked. "Are you ready?", Natsuki and I looked at each other, and nodded. She walked towards a computer nearby, and hit a key. The door shut, and a countdown from thirty.

I gulped, and Natsuki noticed. "Nervous?" She asked.

"Yeah, first time" I said.

"Ooh. Well, some tips. Throwing up is normal, screaming like you are a four year old girl is normal, and dying is common."

"You are joking, right?" I asked. She laughed maliciously, and then the countdown hit zero.

My last thought before I plummeted down was 'oh shit'. As soon as the pod shot down, I opened my mouth. Air was rushing through my vocal chords, but no sound was coming out. The sane part of my brain knew this was because we were going faster than sound, but the scared part of my brain made up the majority of my consciousness, and was screaming 'I am going to die!, over and over.

About five minutes was all it took for my to get accustomed to the feeling of my stomach (and all my other internal organs) being left back in America. I opened my eyes, and closed my mouth, feeling that my throat was hoarse. I looked over to see Natsuki, who seemed to be in a laughing fit. 'Yeah yeah, laugh it up!' I thought. 'I will get my revenge….' we admired the scenery as we rushed at twelve thousand kilometers per hour. All we could really see was blue rushing by. 'Well, what sucks in view is made up for by time' I thought.

After about another twenty minutes, I felt the pod slowing, and turning. I blinked rapidly, as now my head was shooting in the direction of travel. Again, the terrified part of my brain took over, but my sane part was trying to reason with it.

'Oh my god! Something is going to get in the way of the pod, and break the glass, and smash my head open!'

'That is preposterous! We are in a sealed tube'

'Then the tube will crack, and pressure kill me!'

'Idiot! The glass is stronger than steel! The only thing that can crack it is a tactical missile!'

'Then terrorists will launch a missiles at the tube!'

'Ugh! Missiles don't work underwater!'

And this went one for at least ten minutes. After I finally convinced myself I was in no danger, I looked back at my friend who's eyes were watering with laughter. I glared at her, trying to show just how annoyed I was.

After a few more minutes, the pod slowed, and the watery scenery changed to one of brown and black dirt. Then, stopped with me seeing the inside of a small box. The restraints clicked, and fell off. We stood, shakily after the fast travel. I unhooked our belongings, and handed Natsuki her bag. I picked up my cases, and walked out.

The pod exited from the ground into a small steel box with lights on the top. I found a door quickly. "Hey, Natsuki" I said. "You think they have changing rooms?"

"One, we should get used to speaking Japanese here, and two, yes. Follow me" she led the way, through the steel hatch.

I obeyed. Outside was a waiting room, with chairs on both sides. A lady at a console stood to one side, and she looked at us with an expectant gaze. "Enjoy your trip?" She asked in the native language.

I grinned, and replied in kind. "Oh yes, being a first timer, that beat Six Flags any day!"

She grinned. "I am glad you enjoyed yourselves. The changing rooms are this way" she pointed to one side, down a corridor.

I nodded my thanks, and went that way, with my friend at my side. We walked down the stark white hallway, and found three adjoining rooms, one with the universal sign for male (a stick person) and the other, female(a stick person with a skirt), and another with the two signs combined, half of each. I shook my head at the third sign. 'Wow, seriously?' I thought.

I walked through the male door, and stripped, changing back into my clothes from earlier. The stark white walls smelling of bleach. I had a thought, of vengeance for the ride to the pod…

I walked out of the door, wearing my purple kimono. 'Wow, this is much more comfortable than I thought it would be' I thought, looking at the purple gown. Natsuki came out of the other door, wearing a similar article of clothing, but pink.

"Wow, you look good!" She said.

"Thanks" I replied. "Same to you" she blushed slightly at my words, but I didn't notice. I picked up my Surface bag, her duffle bag, and my suitcase. "Lead the way!" I said.

"Yessir" and she walked out of the hallway, back into the main room, where she turned to the left, and walk out some glass doors leading to the Outside.

Tall buildings stretched in every direction, the nightlife thriving. Bright lights came from everywhere, advertising everything in the oriental language. There were woman at corners wearing small leather outfits whispering in mens' ears. A line of yellow cars lay in front of us, with the word 'Taxi' in both English and Japanese. My friend walked up to the one directly in front of us, and slapped the trunk twice. It popped open, and I placed our luggage inside. We then climbed into the cab.

Natsuki shad an address, and the driver started driving through the night time cityscape. After about twenty minutes of driving, he stopped in front of a two story house. "We are here, ma'am, sir" he said. I looked at the money owed, and pulled out my wallet.

"No!" Scolded Natsuki, "I got it"

"No" I responded calmly, "You paid for the ticket here, I at least got this" she seems to be subdued by this. I pulled out some dollar bills from my wallet. "Do you accept American money?" I asked.

"Yes" he said.

I handed him the money. "Keep the change." I said. We got out, and I carried our belongings from the cab to the door. It looked oddly western in appearance, almost like a early two thousands american house. Natsuki knocked on the door, and it opened to reveal an old woman.

"Sobo!" Said Natsuki, addressing her grandmother. They hugged.

"Who is this striking boy?" She asked in English.

"I'm Stephen, pleased to meet you" I said.

"Ahh, why are you wearing a kimono? We are very lax here" she said.

"Ok, knowing that Natsuki was going to tell you what I was wearing, I put on more clothes under this" I explained. The old woman laughed at the indignant look on Natsuki's' face, and ushered my in.

"I like you!" She said.

"And, you don't have to speak English" I said in perfect Japanese. "I am fluent in this language."

"Ooh, and smart!" She laughed more. "Sorry I couldn't meet you at the PT, but it was either that or make a delicious bento!"

"Hey, where should I put these?" I lifted our bags.

"Oh, leave them by the door" she answered and walked away. The inside was very much oriental, with paintings and signs in Japanese, and a shamisen in the corner. There was a circular table, low to the ground, with pillows around it. There were three plates equidistant, with a meal in each. The old woman sat down at a spot, and gestured to us. I sat to her right, and Natsuki to her left.

We looked at each other. "Itadakimasu!" We said in unison, and dug in. Having eaten a scant few hours ago, I barely finished the meal. I groaned in satisfaction.

"That...was….gooooooodddd" I said.

"Agreed" grunted my friend.

"I am glad you like!" She said. "You two go upstairs and set up your room, I will clean up" she stood up. I thanked her, and took our bags with us. After heading up, there were two doors. Natsuki lead me through one of them.

Inside, it was stark, walls bare. There were two bands set up on opposite sides of the room. I dropped my stuff.

"She….she expects us to sleep in the same room?" I asked.

"Yup" responded Natsuki. She took her bag, and set it on one of the beds. There was also a television on a desk on one wall. "The rest of my stuff is coming in on Sunday" she said.

"O-ok" I replied, still taken aback by us sharing a room. I sat on the bed designated for me. 'Well, this is different'.

All of a sudden, Natsuki squealed. I stood up, ready to defend my friend from whatever ailed her, but she was shoving a box in my face… a box that said NerveGear in large English letters. The box was approximately one half meter by three quarters of a meter, and said that it had two of the helmets inside. I grinned at my very excited friend. There was writing on the corner saying that two copies of Sword Art Online also resided within.


	4. Chapter 4-Full Feelings, Among Others

**thanks to my proofreader, thunderwolf7226, and too all who review! Thanks for the support!**

The next day, after very little sleep, we opened the package. Inside the large helmet box, were two game cartridges, with the title of Sword Art Online. I sat down while Natsuki examined the NerveGear. I pulled out a small manual out of the box, and sat there reading some of it. It told how to activate sword skills, which I found fascinating, and just plain tips on the game. After memorizing the little booklet quickly, I put it down, and looked at my friend with the grey helmet on her head.

"How do I turn this damned thing on?" She demanded.

"It won't matter, the servers for SAO will not be online until one pm." I laughed at her.

"And how do you know?" She demanded. Natsuki took off the head gear, and glared at me.

I raised the booklet. "I read it"

"Who reads the instruction booklet?" She asked, scoffing.

"Me" I said with a straight face. She laughed at me.

"Of course you do!"

I stood up, and looked at the headset. It had a power cord, running from the back of it. I studied the helmet, and found a small incision. I put my fingernail into the incision, and pried up. A small opening appeared, just larger then the SD size cartridge. 'This must be where the game goes' I thought to myself. I put it down after replacing the lid of the compartment.

Since the time was eight thirty two, I was about to politely ask what was for breakfast, when my stomach decided to display the mating call of the humpback whale. I looked down at the offending part of my body. I was wearing a white shirt, and matching pants. Natsuki started giggling at my embarrassment. "I think some food is in order" she said. I looked up, an apologetic expression on. "Hey" she continued. "Don't worry, we have bacon" my face lit up.

"Score!" I exclaimed, pumping my fist. Who can resist bacon?

Natsuki walked out of the room, and downstairs. I followed closely. As soon as I left the room, I smelled it. The seasoned scent drifted to my nostrils. My eyes widened as it hit me, and my stomach acted up again. I sped up my pace down the padded stairs, close on Natsukis' tail. Once downstairs, the sliding door to the kitchen was open, and there was the sound of sizzling meat upon a skillet. I walked into the kitchen.

I saw the old woman there, in front of a white electric stove. I groaned aloud at the fatty pig meat on the pan in front of her. It smelled so good!

There was a small circular wooden table in here, right in front of me. It had four chairs around it. There were three plates arranged at the corresponding number of chairs. The walls were white, but many painting with bright vivid colors hung on them, depicting peaceful scenes of peace, and nature. Overall, it was a pleasant mix of Western and Eastern cultures.

"Ma'am?" I said politely.

"Hai" she answered, not taking her eyes off the bacon on the pan.

"I never caught your name" I sat at the table. "May I ask for it?"

"Just call me Sobo" she said, a slight giggle from her old frame.

"Ok, Sobo-san" I said.

She grabbed the black handle of the black skillet, and came to the table. "There is milk in the refrigerator, and Natsuki is done with the toast"

I glanced over my shoulder to see that my friend was indeed, manning a white toaster appliance, with three pieces of toast beside her. I rose to do something, but she shot me an odd look accompanied by "Sit down, Stephen-chan. You are our guest, there will be enough work to do later!" I froze, unsure what to do, but she waved at me, and I obeyed.

Then, as I turned back around, I saw Sobo was heaping bacon on my plate. If I was thirty years older, it would look like a heart attack waiting to happen. When Natsuki put a piece of sliced toast, that was buttered and jellied, they both sat with considerably less food on their plates. I sat, embarrassed by them giving so much, but not taking the same amount. Noticing my discomfort, Natsuki explained.

"Don't worry, this is more than we usually eat in the mornings. And I told her you have quite an apitite!" She giggled slightly. I nodded, swallowing my feeling. I saw that they were eating with their hands. 'Wow, people here aren't as different from the West as I thought'.

After polishing off the plate in record time, I took everyone's plates to the sink, where I rinsed them off. I saw she had a dishwashing machine, so I put the ceramic dishes in there. After doing that, I turned around, and waited for further instructions, unaware of what to do. Sobo had gone into another room, so it was just me and Natsuki. She was putting the toaster into a cabinet. She stood erect, and faced me. "Now, we go and change. Ok?" I nodded, and followed her to her room.

Once inside, I opened my suitcase that I left on the floor the night before. I pulled out a pair of blue jeans, and a (purple) tshirt. I was about to turn around, and ask her where the bathroom was so I could change when I heard her exclaim. "Don't you dare turn!" I froze, unmoving at her odd tone. "Just… just face the wall and change" she said.

"Umm, Natsuki… how about I go to a bathroom?" I asked, staring very intensely at the white wall informs of me.

"Ok" she said, flustered. "Go out the door, and to the right." She commanded. I walked out without turning around. Once I shut the sliding door behind me, I faced the right, and found the door she referred to. I slid it open and walked inside. It was small, but had all the necessities, a toilet, sink, and shower. Everything was white in here, the tile, grout, toilet, countertop, bath. All white. It felt too clean, like it was made of bleach or something. I stripped, and changed quickly. After walking out, I was about to slide open the door to our shared room, but I stopped myself. Instead, I spoke. "Is it ok if I come in?"

"Yup"I heard.

I pushed the door open. Natsuki was wearing a short sleeved pink shirt, and a navy blue skirt that barely came to her knees. She had on white tennis shoes. Her blue and pink hair was tied in a pony tail. She blushed slightly at my examining gaze. "You are looking at me odd." She said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Sorry" I said instantly, and averted my eyes. 'Wow. I have to admit, she doesn't look half bad. The hell?' I shook my head violently. 'Where in hell did that come from?' I questioned myself.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"Nah" I said, dumping my dirty clothes inside my suitcase. After zipping it back up, I stood, and faced her. "Dressed up fancy?"

"Well…" she started. She looked genuinely flustered. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to lunch later?"

I thought about it. I picked up my purple jacket on the floor, and withdrew my wallet. I opened it, and found eighty two dollars in various bills. Being a super computer nerd, I was sometimes paid money by kids from other schools to change their grades to passing. Let's just say it is a well paying job. 'Hmm' I thought. 'Well, I don't exactly have a steady income right now… but why not? It seems Natsuki wants to go'. "Sure" I said, putting the leather item into my jeans pocket. "You pick where, and I'll pay. Just make sure they accept U.S. dollars!"

Natsuki blushed slightly at my words, and nodded. "I know just the place" and she ran out of the room.

I sighed. 'Girls are soooo weird'. I thought, shaking my head slightly.

Since the SAO servers went up at one, we decided to go out for a light lunch around eleven. She chose a ramen place, not too far from her house. It wasn't large, and didn't do much business, but she said it was good. On the outside, it wasn't anything memorable, like one of those buildings in the rundown part of pretty much any downtown city. The top of the sign had fallen off, so all it said was "Ramen", missing the beggining. It had two tables outside, made of metal with matching chairs, and an umbrella in the center of each table to help shade from the summer heat, although, who would eat hot ramen during the summer is beyond me.

Inside though, the atmosphere was akin to a barber shop in the nineteen hundreds. Everyone knew everyone, and there was no menu. Basically, you order whatever you wanted, and eat. And then afterwards, you ask how much you owe, and pay. Simple. We stood outside, and I looked on the building skeptically. She shot a look at me, and grabbed my hand, dragging me towards the entrance. "Come on!" She grunted. She twisted the brass knob, and pushed the door open with one hand.

It was the spitting image of a bar. There were signs everywhere, advertising some alcohol or other, with a center circular wooden countertop that was one third meter thick, but from edge to edge, was eight meters, with a one meter diameter metal fryer. The chef was over two meters tall, with a pink tinge to his cheeks, and a round frame. He looked like an Asian lumberjack, and dressed in a plaid shirt with jeans and a what used to be a white apron over them. He was scraping some noodles and vegetables form the large skillet onto a plate, which was then handed to a man at the counter.

He looked over at us when we entered. "Hey! Natsuki! Long time no see!" He called, his voice booming through the small restaurant.

My friend waved back. "Hey, Kojou-san!" She called, waving. "Lost any weight?"

"Yeah! Negative ten pounds!" He laughed with my friend at the inside joke. 'Lost negative…. that means he got larger' I thought. He continued. "Take a seat, I'll be there in a moment!"

Natsuki, who was still holding my hand, led me to a nearby booth. The maroon padded cushions looking nice with the wood theme. After we sat, we didn't even have time to start talking before the massive chef squeezed in beside me, shoving me against the wall. "I want to know everything!" He said in an excited whisper.

Natsuki laughed. "And why would I tell you that? I know how romours are spread!"

"Then I will infer!" This seemed to scare Natsuki, but he continued without letting her interject. "This kid here" he slapped me in the chest, his paw of a hand enveloping my whole torso, "is your hubby, and you recently got hitched in the states, and plan to leach a Couples Meal from me!" He laughed, his gafaws making my very being shake.

She seemed to become very sad. "Not married yet…. but anything can happen." She winked at me.

He looked at me, his small eyes opening wide. "Nooo! You took my Natsuki from me! I am sooooo jealous!" He laughed. "Yo, I didn't know you liked younger men! How old are you, ten?" He asked me, raising an eyebrow.

I opened my mouth, seeing my chance to interject angrily, but Natsuki beat me to it. "Thirteen actually" she said, snickering slightly.

It pretended to cry. "What does he have that I don't, huh?" He demanded. "A slim frame? Smarts?" He stood up, and smiled at me. "I am Kojou, Neishi Kojou." He bowed. "Pleased to make the acquaintance of the person who was noble enough to captivate Natsuki! What is your name?"

I smiled finally able to talk, but again, Natsuki was too fast. "This is Stephen-kun".

"Well, I will whip you two up something nice!" He walked off, humming to himself.

I shut the door into our shared room, stuffed to the brim. "Ughuu" I groaned, laying on the bed. I pulled out my wallet, now short twenty four dollars, paying for a massive plate of noodles, and a chocolate cake. "Worth you pretending to be my date"

"Sorry" she groaned. "But I saved you, what, fifteen dollars? Am I not good enough for you?" She pouted.

"Ugh. I don't have the willpower to fight" I said honestly. "Hey Scas, time check" I said out loud.

A robotic voice came form my phone in my pocket. "Twelve fifty four, with approximately twenty seconds until next minute" came the response. "Anything else bossman?"

"Yeah, how much money is in my bank account? If this keeps up, I am going to need a cash injection, 'cuz I am addicted to whatever that was"

"Your balance is: one hundred eighty dollars ninety two cents. That it bossman?"

"Yeah, thanks" I sat up with much effort. "I think we should get SAO booted up."

Natsuki nodded. She walked over, and slid open the door. "Sobo! We are getting online! If you call for us, we won't respond!"

"Ok, be off in time for dinner at six thirty!" She called back up.

I grabbed a grey helmet, and put the SD size game cart into the corresponding compartment. I slid on the large helmet, and plugged it into a wall outlet. Nearby, Natsuki was mirroring my movements. We lay down, face up. "Link, start!" We said in unison.

 **Send a review or pm if you have questions, comments, hatemail, having a bad hair day, and/or suggestions! Your voices are heard!**


	5. Chapter 5-The Death Game

**This is the updated chapter 5, I modified Kayaba's speech. My story and Failtastic Belt's, Sun Dancer, are now linked! One is half of the other! Check it out to see the other side of the story! (I need to catch up to him though)**

I was floating in a void, nothing in any direction except for the pitch blackness. I started to hyperventilate, feeling like I was sealed away somewhere, but soon, a figure appeared in front of me, standing erect, but relaxed. I raised my right arm, and the figure mirrored my motions. It was a little under two meters in height, so I had to crane my neck in order to look it in the face. It had sandy blonde hair, and vivid blue eyes. It's figure was well muscled, but not buff. It had on a blue shirt, and black pants with dark shoes. I reached out, nad it didn't move this time. Curious, I touched its shirt. A small square popped up in for the of me, with the shade of the shirt inside, and one arrow pointing left with a counterpart pointing right. I pushed on the right arrow, and the box (and shirt) became red.

Understanding now, I kept pushing the button until I found purple, and then tapped the box, confirming my choice. Then, a light blue window with white writing appeared in front of me, asking if I wanted this as my avatar. Not seeing anything else I wanted to change, I hit the 'confirm' choice. After that, another window appeared, with blank boxes, asking for a username, password, to confirm the password, my real name, and email. After filling out everything but the username, I thought for a moment. 'This is likely to be what everyone knows me by in-game…' I didn't exactly want anyone knowing I was an American, so I came up with a random oriental name. I typed in Teika.

Then, a list popped up, with:

Strength (base damage)

Agility(base speed)

Dexterity(how well you can use throwing weapons)

Vitality(hp)

Defense(how much damage is negated without armor)

Intelligence (Cri)

A number showed below them I had ten 'StP', or Stat Points. 'Everyone is going to want the agi/cri types…..' I put four on Str, four on Agi, and two on Vit. The another window popped up with:

Horizontal(wide sweeping attack, medium damage)

Vertical(overhead attack, large damage)

Slant(diagonal slash, medium damage)

I had one 'SkP' or Skill Point to place. 'Well, I am going to be an attack type, so why not?' I placed it on [Vertical]

A final window came up, asking for in-game personal skills. I saw things like Acrobatics, and two handed weaponsmanship. I chose one handed [weaponsmanship] and [detection]. 'That should be fine.'

Then, everything turned white, and the words 'Welcome to Sword Art Online' appeared in front of me, zooming towards me and disappearing at the last second. It was followed by many colors whooshing past me, and I felt like I was being sent to another world.

The sudden light from whatever was next blinded me, making me raise my arm to shield my eyes. When they adjusted, the scene that assailed my eyes made me gasp.

I saw a vivid field, lush green grass covering the expanse. There was a small hill many meters in for the of me. The sky was blue, bright bright blue, and white clouds that reminded me of cotton glided across it, like ships on the sea. Some animals were grazing on the grass, and all of them had the label [Frenzied Boar] above them. 'Hmm. Beginning mob?' I thought to myself. I checked myself out, and found a shortsword at my waist. I drew it, and looked at the dull blade. 'Hrmph. I am going to have to ditch this asap. Well, the game booklet said something about being able to use System assisted attacks, called Sword Skills… how to I use these?'

I ran at the boar, swinging my blade from above. I felt this tingling feeling. I saw a blue glow above me as I ran. The boar raised its head and looked at me. I felt myself accelerating faster than I could go, and slashed downwards on top of the boars' head. It made contact, sending the beast back. I saw a small blue gauge appear above it, and it shrunk down to below half way, turning yellow. I tried to follow up with another attack, but I couldn't move!

I struggled fruitlessly against my invisible bonds. The boar charged me, and knocked me over. I saw another blue bar appear, but this one was mine, and it was just to the right of my vision. It dropped by a quarter. 'You wanna play that way?' I thought.

I stood, free of whatever restrained me before. The boar pawed the ground. I crouched, accepting its challenge. As one, we moved at each other.

I raised my sword above my head again, Verticalactivating that I just learned how to use.

I hit first, slicing its head in half. I saw a white background inside with a red coordinate graph looking thing. I didn't have time to ponder this, as the boar froze, and exploded into small blue lights. I was stunned. 'Wow, that was overly simple' I thought. I stood erect, and a status window appeared in front of me. "You received four hundred col, and forty xp!"

I sheathed my sword at my side. I saw I had grown to level two after one mob. 'Ok, that is odd. Now, for the most pressing concern, how in hell do I open the menu?'

I looked around, and saw a dark haired player raise his arm, with index extended, and swipe down. I mirrored the motion, and a small menu display appears with a dinging sound. I found "status", and then "personal stats". I saw I had five more StP to place, and put two on Str, two on Agi, and one on Vit. 'Ok, now to explore this thing'. I surfed through my menu until I found the "Skills page". I had one SkP,and put it on [Slant], thinking it would be a useful attack since it can be activated while drawing your sword (or so the skill description said).

"I wonder who the only person actually exploring the menu is?" I heard a feminine voice behind me. I turned, and saw a well tanned blonde. She had similar clothes, and a similar blade at her hip.

"I wonder how you haven't already figured out how to put highlights in your hair." I shot back, and walked up to my friend. We shook hands, and then exchanged a quick hug.

"Bite me, this game is a little harder than I thought" she commented. "But I will find out how!" I believed her.

We laughed for a moment. I saw a green name floating above her head, stating she was Aoki. "So, Aoki-chan, shall we go?"

"Where?" She asked.

"How about grinding, so we can get more used to fighting here, and get some xp" she grinned at my explanation.

"you are a totally different person in-game" she said, walking ahead of me.

After we each leveled up five times (once at level three, it took quite a while to gain sufficient xp), I put a few points on Def, thinking that I cannot dodge everything.

"Hey, Aoki" I called. She turned toward me after finishing off her victim. "It's starting to get late" I called.

She opened her menu. "Damn, already five"

"Yeah, and Sobo-san wants off soon. Wanna go?" I asked her.

"Yeah, we can always continue tomorrow." She opened her menu, and went to settings. She hunted around for a bit while I took a final look at SAO. "Hey, any idea where the logout button is?" She asked, standing beside me.

"No idea, was hoping you know. The booklet didn't tell me how to logout." I shrugged.

"Hrmph" she grunted.

I stopped a girl walking by. "To, total noob question, but how do I logout?" I asked her.

"Happy to help!" Her face lit up. She opened her menu, and went to settings. She scrolled down to the bottom. She looked confused. "In the Beta… it was right here…" she said. "Sorry" she walked off, still confused. 'So...we are stuck' I thought. 'Oh well, a System Admin will help' I thought.

Just as I thought this, I started feeling tingly. "Aoki…!" I called. I turned towards my friend, and she was looking startled. What surprised me was that she was glowing blue.

"Teika!" She responded, and then everything went black.

I spawned inside of a courtyard, with tall buildings everywhere. There were a lot of people here, all chatting nervously. I kept my cool, and checked out my surroundings. 'Maybe this is the Admin making sure we don't set off another bug?' I thought. I looked up, and the sky was tinged orange and yellow with the setting sun. That didn't scare me. Not at all.

What scared me was the blinking red hexagon in the sky, with the word "Warning" on it. It blinked on for a second, then off for a second. It did this for a while, during which I tried to figure out what the hell was going on. Then the blinking stopped. 'Oh finally, something is happening, I thought. A hush spread over the crowd.

Starting at where the warning sign was flashing a moment before, identical signs spread over the whole sky, encompassing everything from horizon to horizon. I felt a hand grasp mine, and I looked to see Natsuki… no, Aoki was attached to that hand. She was shaking slightly with fear. She gasped, and my eyes snapped back to the sky.

There was a red blood like substance dripping down, and stopping about twenty meters from the ground. The small drip became a sudden downpour, and the scarlet liquid took shape. It became a gold embroidered scarlet cloak, that covered a body many times the size of a man. The hood was pulled forward, so the face was hidden, an emptiness that seemed indefinite lay within the hood. It spoke.

"Greetings players of Sword Art Online. I am Akihiko Kayaba, and you are in a world of my design. I have brought you here, to the center of the Town of Beginnings, or Starting Town depending on your language setting, to explain a few things. First, as you have probably already figured out, the logout button is missing. This was intentional, and is not a bug in the Cardinal is is the way Sword Art Online was intended."

A wave of murmurs swept across the mob. The cloaked figure continued.

"I created this world to be similar to the one you are used to in two ways, first, if you die here in My World, you die in real life."

I felt something grab my hand. I looked to my left to see my friend standing with her eyes glued to our 'god', shaking slightly with fear. Steeling myself to be strong for the both of us, I continued listening.

"The same result will occur if your NerveGear rig is removed. Do not be alarmed, the media has already been alerted, so the chances of this scenario happening is smaller than slim. The final way this is like your world, will be explained by yourselves. Look in your inventory, I have placed an item there"

I opened the menu like he said. I saw an item there, called . 'What is this for…?' Then it happened. I blinked, and I was staring at… myself. Myself from the Real World. I looked down, and saw I was closer to the ground. My arms were the same scrawny version as I am used to.

"What is the point of this, you bastard?" I heard. I looked up, searching for the speaker. "What gives you the right to play god?"

I looked in the general direction, but couldn't see the owner of the rebellious voice.

"Excuse me? Step forward cretin" commanded Kayaba.

"If you think you are our god, I will enjoy bringing you to your knees!"

'Oh no. Please shut up, now! Don't piss him off!' I thought wildly.

"Did you not hear me? I own everything that you see! I own your body, I own your life, yet you disrespect me? I'll give you one  
last chance."

'Take it! Just ask forgiveness, and be done with this!'

"Screw you," I heard a growl. "Any god who bleeds is unfit to rule! The only thing you have is my contempt."  
I heard the sound of something went hitting the cobblestones. Spit. "I have a nasty cramp in my leg, so kneeling will be a little difficult"

I sighed. 'Idiot'.

"I warned you, I gave you a chance. Now I will demonstrate my power."

He opened a menu, and pressed a few buttons. "I scorn at singling you out from the flock, but this is inexcusable. You will have no pain absorber. In every fight, you will feel it all. You will die in agony, as nothing more than a waste of air."

He said. "Now, get back before I decide to do more"

The idiot must have actually followed orders this time, because Kayaba continued.

"Now then, to continue before any more inferiors decide they are worth my time. There are two more items to address. Firstly, Sword Art Online advertised that there was no magic, the only RPG to do so… this is not exactly true. Six of you have been endowed with powers, randomly chosen by the Cardinal System. When one of you dies, the System will randomly choose another. If a player has slain his comrade with power, his chance with increase to receive a power. After I finish speaking, you may check your menus for the telltale signs. Finally, the only way to escape is to clear the game, defeating the boss on floor one hundred after progressing through the lower floors. This is nearly impossible without the unity of these six powers, though not unheard of. This concludes the official tutorial for Sword Art Online, the Death Game"

We stood, in shock from this revelation. Still gripping Aokis' hand, I dragged her to a nearby building labeled [Tavern]. Once inside, a menu appeared in front of me, and I purchased a room. I dragged her upstairs, not paying attention to my surroundings, and barged into the corresponding room. Inside was rather drab, with the smell of dust in the air. There was a single small bed, a chair, a desk, and a candle. I walked over to the candle, and a window popped up asking if I want to turn it on. I hit confirm.

I then went to Aoki at the door, and dragged her to the bed, and sat her down. I shut the door.

"St-Stephen?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"Hai" I said, rubbing her hand in mine.

"I-ummm" she opened her menu, and turned it around with a flick of her wrist. I saw a red Japanese character, called 'Kasai', or 'fire'.


	6. Chapter 6-Damsel in Distress

**thanks to my reviewers, dedicated readers, and Failtastic Belt for letting me use a few of your characters!**

My mouth opened wide at the symbol. 'No… this means'. I gulped. 'This means others will try and hunt her down for the chance of becoming a Mage' I looked at her cursor over her head. It had the symbol for fire as well. I looked my friend in the eyes.

"What am I going to do?" She whispered. She looked like a deer in the headlights. "I don't think I am strong enough to bear this."

I wrapped my arms around my friend, and she seems to try curling into a ball. I felt her start shuddering, and realized she was crying. "I will be strong for both of us" I said aloud, my voice having much more courage than what I felt. She started bawling at this. I let go of her, while she was crying, and grabbed her hand. I extended her index finger, and opened her menu. Using her hand, I went to settings, and set everything except her screenname to private (because your name cannot be private).

"There" I said, looking at her name. The fire sign was gone. "You're safe now"

She wiped her eyes. "Damnit. You are always looking out for me"

I shrugged. "Who else will?" She laughed mournfully.

"You are a completely different person" she sighed, eyes still tearful.

"Different good or bad?" I asked.

She sat beside me and lay her head down on my shoulder. "Different. I don't know which you I like better. This one is calm and caring, while the other is funny and a smart ass."

I laughed. "Well, at least you're honest!"

She giggled a little. "Yeah."

I sighed. " 'The hell are we going to do with you?" I asked.

"I don't know, I was hoping you did" she stemmed to get sad again.

"How about this" I started my proposition, trying to occupy her mind. "We rest for the remainder of today, and grind hardcore tomorrow"

"Hardcore" she agreed.

I stood up. "I'll take the chair." I looked at the rickety looking piece of furniture.

She reached out and grabbed my hand before I took a step. I looked back at her, startled by her movement.

"Please…. will you sleep in the bed with me?" She asked tentatively.

I thought for a moment. 'Couldn't hurt, right?' I nodded. She scooted over on the small twin size bed. I sat on it, and lay on my side. I always take up minimal room on the bed in which I sleep, so the edge wasn't new to me. I felt Aoki move behind me, then an arm draped itself over me. Her body pressed against mine, seeking comfort from this hellhole.

We slept like that.

I woke in the morning stiff from sleeping in one position. I gently took Aoki's' arm off of me, and stood, stretching the kinks out of my body. I felt my shoulder pop, and a fresh tongue of pain lept up my shoulder, but afterwards, my ailments ceased. After the gunshot like noise, Aoki started waking. She sat up, eyes half lidded, most of the right side of her hair sticking out, perpendicular to the rest. I laughed a little at her.

She took out the hand mirror that Kayaba gave us, and shrieked. "Holy shit!" She exclaimed when she saw her hair. She used her hand to straighten it back to normal, all while I stood laughing at her. "Damn you!" She said.

"Hey, I'm not the one who woke up looking like a freaking vacuum sucked at half my head!" She couldn't keep a straight face.

"Yeah, I guess you are right" she commented, now with decent hair. She sighed. "Day one"

"Yeah" I said. "Well, we have some grinding to do!"

"Ugh. Fiiiiine. But, can we make one stop first?" She asked.

"Depends" I said testily.

"I want some damned hair dye!"

I laughed at this. "Same here" we shared a knowing nod. 'So, her newfound power is not something to talk about, got it'. I understood the hidden message; not what was said, but what wasn't said.

We exited the little room I rented for a day. The hallway was small, and cramped. It wasn't wide enough for two people to walk abreast, so she followed behind. I found a staircase that looked like it was built two thousand some years ago. 'Well, at least it should be unbreakable' I thought. We walked down with unsure footsteps. Once down, I looked at the tavern. It was a rundown looking place, with dust everywhere. The bar had a few players at it, mostly choking down burnt sausage.

"Hey" I called out to the bar. Everyone looked at me. Swallowing anxiety, I continued. "Anyone know where I can find an alchemist?". Once I voiced my question, someone piped up.

"Go to the center of town. There is a vendor there known as Haru, she will have anything you want." I nodded to him.

"Thanks. Hey, how much was that sausage you're eating?" I asked.

"Twenty col, why?" He asked.

I took some coins out from my inventory and handed them to him. "As a token of my appreciation."

He nodded, taking the coins. I started out the door, with a silent Aoki behind me. The town had a pre medieval look about it, like it came out of a story book about the roman times. The buildings were no larger than three stories, and were built from wood and stone. The street was cobblestone, and the people wore tunics and dresses (though not at the same time).

I found an npc, and asked her which direction was the town center. She pointed, and I thanked her, going that way. My leather shoes clomped against the stone. There weren't many people in the Town of Beginnings. 'Hm. Maybe they left to hide out in other towns?' I thought. I made it to the center. It was the courtyard we were in yesterday. Swallowing the feelings popping up, I looked around for anything that screamed 'Alchemist'. I found a girl on a carpet with bottles of various liquids in front of her.

She had bleach white hair, going all the way to her jaw. She was very petite, and had deep emerald eyes. "May I help you?" She asked kindly enough. Knowing that many players would want to take advantage of us, I decided not to seem too noob-like.

"Yeah, friend here wants hair dye, and it's coming out of my wallet" I grumbled.

The white haired girl raised her eyebrows. "Ok. Two bottles then, because I can see right through your act" she opened her inventory and withdrew two bottles of murky brown liquid. "Anything else?"

I blinked rapidly. "Yeah, I want to know where I can get weapons, and other items in here. Or find a craftsman"

She scrunched her eyebrows. "Well, there's Yuri over on third street… but nobody likes him. Heck, one guy went there to get a sword, and after striking up a deal, Yuri sent bounty hunters after him! Ha!" She laughed at this, as though it were funny. "Other Than that… try Egil. He's a tall black dude over there" she pointed at a building. I nodded my thanks.

"How much" I said gesturing to the bottles.

"How about two hundred col?" She asked, although we knew it wasn't a question.

I took out three hundred. "Here" I handed it to her. She gave me the bottles.

"Damn, come back anytime!" She exclaimed, counting the coins. I waved at her as I walked. 'We will use the dye tonight, when we are done for the day.

I walked around a giant fountain in the center. It was a stone swordsman, looking like a roman legionary, with a plume on the helmet. He has the rectangular shield and short gladius. The blade was raised towards the sky, with water spewing from it. 'Hrmph. Looks like he's trying to stab the sun or something' I thought. I tore my gaze from the fountain, and my target: a building labeled "Stuff".

I pushed open the door, and another rundown looking building assailed my. It was a bar looking thing, with a counter on the far side. There were items on the shelves along the walls, form beginners swords, to hp potions, to meat. There was, just like the little Wichita haired Haru said, a tall black guy at the counter. "Hello, welcome to my shop! What may I get you?" His deep baritone almost bass voice pierced through my very being.

"Umm, well, I was thinking a nice sword for" I checked my col balance. "Seven hundred or less."

"Hmm, well, sorry little man, but I don't have anything for you" he seemed to be genuinely sad at this.

A thought popped into my head. "Ok, you have random items right?"

"Yeah, whatever I don't have, I can get!" His deep brown eyes were asking me to get to the point.

"Got a crafting knife?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure. I have five hundred of these things and got no idea what to do with them! No idea how to use 'em either!" He pulled a small knife out from under the counter. The blade was barely six inches, and had a serrated edge. I took it.

"How much you want?" I asks him.

"As I said, I have a lot of those. You taking one is doing me a favor" he scratched his chin. "Although, if you figure out how to use it, tell me, ok?"

"Yessir! Hey, I'm Teika, how do I pm people on this?" I asked.

"Here" he opened his menu, and sent me a friend request. I accepted. He then proceeded to give me an in depth tutorial on the menu.

"Thanks man" I patted his arm.

"Anytime" he grunted.

Out on the plains, we fought [Frenzied Boars] for a while. Our main tactic was one of us would get its attention, and the other would take it out from behind. Worked out pretty well, until someone interrupted us.

Right after I leveled up to eight, I sat down. "That's all of them here" I grunted.

"Hai" said my friend. She slumped next to me as well.

"We need to find something stronger, or grinding will take forever." I said.

"Yup" agreed Aoki.

I heard the sound of pants brushing against itself. I looked up to see someone walking this way. He was tall, and had short black hair. He carried himself arrogantly, as though he was better than everyone else, combined. "Hey, dumbasses" he called to us.

'Ok, so not friendly' I thought standing. "May I help you?" I said diplomatically.

"Yeah, get outta my hunting spot!" He commanded. He had a broadsword at his side, which he drew menacingly.

Instinctively, I put my arm out to shield Aoki. "We don't want trouble, but we were here first"

"And I don't care! I was in the beta, so get lost before I carve you up!" He raised the broadsword.

One of my mottos is don't back down when your friend in threatened, and because he was trying to threaten Aoki, we immediately have a bone to pick. I was about to argue, but Aoki tugged at my sleeve. "C'mon. Let's go, Teika-kun" she said.

I closed my eyes, and got control of my emotions. "Fine" I grunted. I turned around and grabbed Aoki's hand, and started walking.

'What the hell was that guy's problem? Just because he partook in the beta doesn't mean shit!' I thought angrily. We walked along, towards another town. Along the way, many boars met my steel, and became very good friends with it… until the boar would burst into blue polygons.

I found a tree that was rather large. It was an oak, with a trunk of at least a meter diameter. We were approaching a forest nearby, that separated us from the nearest town. "Aoki-chan" I called to the girl a few meters away. "How about we rest here, and try out that dye"

"Ok" she responded, and sat down in for the of the tree. She looked at me as I withdrew the two bottles out of my inventory, and handed her one. I examined mine. It was a test tube looking thing, with no stopper in the top, instead, it was sealed. There was no opening. 'How in hell did she get the liquid in here?' I thought.

"Got it!" Exclaimed Aoki. I looked at her. She had no test tube, but her normally black hair was bright pink. "All you have to do is tap it!" She explained to me.

I touched the surface of the test tube with my right index finger, holding it in my left hand. I saw a window open. It said, "Please choose color:" and then had a little box. The box had a black filling, but when I tapped it, many many many boxes appeared all over my vision. I found one that was pure white, and chose it. I felt a small prickling feeling on my scalp. I saw the dark colored strands of hair in my vision lightened considerably after a second. I ran my hand through my now bleached hair. "Wow, that didn't take long" I said.

"I know! Sooo much easier than IRL!" We giggled for a moment.

"Yo, something random, but what is your swords durability at?" I asked,

She checked her equipped list in her menu. "Twenty two out of one hundred. You?"

"Sixteen" I replied. "I have a hunch" I said.

"Yeah?" She inquired.

I stood up, and reached for a branch on the tree about as thick as my arm, with one and a half meters for a length. I used my decent Str stat to break it off the tree, after which I dropped it. I then found another that was about four centimeters diameter, and as long as my arm. After ripping from the trunk as well, I sat down. Using the crafting knife, I sawed the smaller one into two lengths, each about twenty five centimeters in length. I put these aside for later.

I took the larger branch, and cut it in half lengthwise. I then took each half, and again lengthwise, measured from the center about two millimeters with my eyes, and cut the thin plank off. I now had two twenty five centimeter rods, and two one and a half meter long, eight centimeters thick.

"Ahh" said Aoki. "You're trying to craft swords!"

"Yup" I started sharpening one of the planks. "I figured that even I can make something better than the starting gear of this game, so, I decided to give it a try"

Once I sharpened both wooden planks sufficiently, I cut a notch into each small rod, serving as the handle. I then inserted both of the now fashioned blades into the handles.

"How are you going to make sure they don't fall apart?" Asked Aoki.

"Easy" I commented. I took one of the branches I cut the blade from, and cut a few strips of the outer bark off. After removing the hard crusty outside, I had something akin to rope, just stronger. "Back in the Stone Age" I began my explanation. "They would fashion axes by doing this"

I put a short, five centimeter strip of bark-rope parallel with the blade, at the junction. I then took a longer strip, and wrapped it around the base of the blade, securing it. I did the same at the top of the handle. As soon as I did this, a window popped up. "You are trying to craft a sword. Would you like to use [System Assist]?" I chose "yes"

The makeshift sword in front of me transformed, into a meter and a half sword, looking as though it was crafted from one piece of wood. Another window appeared. "You have gained thirty five [Crafting] xp points" it said.

I did the same to the other sword, turning it into an actual sword. I put it in my inventory, but before that, I checked its stats.

Durability 120/120

Base damage 60

Sharpness 70

Weight 20

The middle two stats were identical to to the beginning sword, but with higher durability, at a free cost, it was worth it. I handed her the other blade. They were certainly lighter than the starting swords. She also placed hers in her inventory. "Aoki-chan, I really don't feel like going to an inn. It ok if we sleep out here?"

"Sure, where? We don't have camping gear." She stated.

I pointed up. "We make more bark-rope, and tie ourselves to the tree to make sure we don't fall out. It will also make sure no mobs can sneak up on us".

"Huh, smart" she commented. I held out my hands in front of me, to give her a boost into the tree. She was about to climb up, but we heard a scream. We shared a glance and nodded.

As one, we dashed into the direction of the scream: the forest. Once inside, forward motion was hard because of the trees, and roots that threatened to trip you. I realized this quickly, and jumped into a tree, making much more headway from there. I saw a clearing in the dense trees ahead of me, and drew my sword. I leapt into the air, and used my quick mind to process the situation instantly.

There was a little girl backed against a tree, a knife a few meters away. She had numerous scratch and bite marks on her, many of which looked serious. I saw a thing in front of her, called a [Dire Wolf]. It had grey fur, and glowing blue eyes. It seemed to be unharmed. I was to the left of the girl, and directly in line with the wolf. I raised the metal above my head, and it started to glow blue.

"Kyyaaaaaaaa!" I yelled, landing right next to the wolf. I sliced its head off with one strike. My legs bent from the impact, and I fell to my knees. The [Dire Wolf] exploded into blue pieces, and drifted off into the wind.

I stood up, and examined the girl I saved. She was blonde, with her hair tied into pigtails. She had bright red eyes that seemed to stare into your soul while looking completely innocent. Her outfit was nearly identical to mine, black shirt, dark grey pants. The outfit did not suit her well, she would look better in bright vivid colors.

I walked a few meters to her knife, and picked it up. After handing it to her, she bowed deeply. "Th-th-thank you, Teika-san" she said from the prone position.

"No need to thank me" I said. "You are a fellow person like me, you deserve saving, no matter what"

At that moment, she looked up with me, her eyes saying words she could not. Then, Aoki came bursting in. "Goddamnit! Teika! Why did you leave me all the way back there?" She demanded. "Oh, who are you?"

I answered for the girl, as she averted her eyes. "Her cursor says Silica."I sighed. "And why are you out here?" I asked.

"I didn't want to burden anyone" she answered. "I heard this was a shortcut to Horunka, and I wanted to get there soon"

"Uhh, Teika-kun" said Aoki slowly. I heard a twig snap, and I whipped around. I saw four more [Dire wolf]s, once I noticed them, they formed a semicircle around us. 'Damnit! I forgot they traveled in packs'.

"Aoki, I got the ones on the right" I said.

"On it" she said.

I wielded my very damaged looking shortsword, and crouched. I rushed at the two wolves, and they pounced. I leaned back, and slid under their pounce, raking ones' underbelly with the edge of my blade. After stopping, I stood, and turned around. One of the was heavily damaged, with its hp bar at three quarters. The damaged one backed away slightly, as though it was having second thoughts, but the other ran at me, probably to avenge his wounded comrade. I prepared a [Vertical], and timed my attack right. I slammed my sword down, slicing the wolf's' head in half. It exploded. 'One down, one to… wait, where is the other?' I thought. Then, something tackled me from behind.

I felt claws scrape my back, and teeth sink into my neck. I grimaced slightly, and rolled over, laying face up on the wolf. I then leapt onto my feet, and faced the wolf. My hp was less than one quarter, and was red. I grunted. 'Fine, you wanna play dirty?' I rushed at the wolf, an animalistic growl in my throat. It growled, and ran to me, barking. I put my sword at my waist, next to the sheath. It glowed a dangerous purple, and I let it fly, swinging the [Slant] right at the wolf, catching its snout.

I then used my left hand to grab its neck, and lift it into the air, slamming it against the ground. Before it could get up, I cut its neck, killing it. I got a pop up saying I was now level nine. Ignoring the window, I glanced at Aoki. I saw that she just finished her second wolf.

I walked over to the nearest tree, and slumped down. Aoki sat beside me, with a grunt. "Never again, am I taking on two of those things at the same time" she said.

"Agreed" I panted. I then remembered about Silica.

"So, Silica-san, it just so happens we are heading towards Horunka as well. I guess you can tag along with us"

Her eyes opened wide. "Thank you, Teika-senpai!" She bowed deeply.

"Hey, just so you know, I'm an American, so bowing has very little significance for me" I said.

She made a noise, and bowed deeper. "Sorry!" She exclaimed.

"Ugh. How old are you?" I asked. "Wait, before you answer that question and think me weird for asking, I am thirteen, and you look pretty young."

"I-I am thirteen" she said.

I started chuckling. "What's so funny?" Asked Aoki.

"Just not used to seeing people my age!" I exclaimed.

 **Post your thoughts, whether it be hatemail, or praise.**


	7. Chapter 7-Night Terrors

**a thanks to thunderwolf7226 for allowing me to bounce a few ideas off of you.**

 **yo, if you haven't already, I recommend the story called Sun Dancer by Failtastic Belt. It is one of the few well written and planned fanfics out there, and I really think everyone should give it a shot.**

We found as inn at Horunka that didn't look like it came from a horror movie. The layout was basic, with a wide dinning room, and a bar at one side. We sat at a table, and Aoki was paying for dinner (since I was going to buy the rooms). Silica was very sad about us using col on her.

"But you shouldn't pay for me!" She said in her small voice.

I sighed. "Silica-san, we are paying for you because we like you and think you are a good person".

"But-"she started.

"Yo, Teika-kun, you have something on your face" warned Aoki.

I quickly searched my face with my hand, having discarded the mirror a little while ago. I realized what she did. "Oh, wow, Aoki. Insulting me, huh?"

"Oh, you mean that what I am looking at is your face?" She started to giggle. "I'm sorry, I thought it was too ugly to be that!"

"At least my hair isn't neon" I said.

"Hey!" She stood up at the round table. "Say that again!"

The npc waitress came with our food, interrupting the conflict.

"Umm, are you two friends?" Asked the little blonde.

"Huh?" I said with food in my mouth. "Ya, 'e are, 'e 'u 'ike 'o 'e' o' ea' o'er' 'er's" I tried to say,

"What the idiot is trying to say" started Aoki. "Is that we are fitness, we just love to get in each other's nerves!"

"Oh" she said lowering her head. "I'm sorry"

"Damnit, Silica" I said. "You need to be less apologetic!"

"Sorry" her head lowered further.

"Ugh" I said, shaking my head. We all had ordered curry, since it was the only thing on the damned menu. "Man. If you keep on like this we won't let you keep tagging along!"

Her head lifted. "I thought you were leaving me here" she said.

I put my hand in my head. Aoki spoke for me. "We really actually like you. As long as you don't turn out to be a total bitch, we would love you to stay with us."

I lifted my head to see a single tear run down her face. "Th-th-thank you, Aoki-senpai, Teika-senpai!" We tug heartily into the spicy food. After we were finished, I opened up the tavern menu, looking for spare rooms. 'Not again' I thought looking at the menu.

"Hey, Teika-kun. Why do you have that weird look on your face?" Asked Aoki.

"There is only one room, with one bed. At least this time it is a king size bed."

"I'll sleep on the floor" volunteered Silica.

"Nope. You and Aoki on the bed, me on the floor." I rebutted gently. I knew that females had little qualms about sleeping together. I saw Silica open her mouth to speak again, but Aoki interjected.

"There, it's settled." My friend said, standing up. "Let's go!" She started walking towards a door set near the back, that was labeled 'rooms'. Silica followed. I took out a few coins to leave as a tip. After throwing the coins on the table, I started to follow my female companions.

"Sir!" I heard behind me. I turned, and saw a waitress with the coins in hand. "You forgot some money"

I blinked. "No, I didn't. I loved the service, and the food, so I felt like paying extra. It's a tradition where I come from" I explained.

"Oh, you don't have to pay! It's my job to be nice to people!" She almost laughed. She handed back the money. "Thank you for the appreciation though!" She turned around, and I heard her mutter "idiot, insulting me like that?" And she walked off.

'Hrmph' I thought. I turned back around, and walked through the door. The hall was long, and narrow, but not as narrow as the one from the Town of Beginnings. The doors had brass numbers on them, and I found the one I purchased. I was about to enter, but then I remembered what happened IRL when I did that. I hesitated, and knocked. 'That feels like years ago' I thought, referring to the moment when Natsuki/Aoki was changing. I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" I heard Aoki's voice.

"Me, Teika" I said.

"Come in"

I opened the door. Both girls were dressed in baggy shirts, as night clothes. 'Oh, so they find nightclothes, and I don't, huh?'. "Hey" I said.

"Hey" responded Aoki. They were on the bed, sitting up. "What's the plan tomorrow?" She asked.

"Well, no offense Silica-san, but teach her how to fight, and then grind [Dire Wolf]s." I found out, the name of all the enemies were in English, or Japanese written in English letters. "They give much more xp and col than the [Frenzy Boars], it's sad."

"No offence taken" said Silica.

"Good, now, I'm beat" I said, flopping in the ground, face first. After landing, I heard Aoki laughing.

"Idiot!" She said.

"Glow stick" I countered.

"Whiteout"

"Bubblegum"

"Glow in the dark"

"Damnit! I'm out of insults, screw you!" I said indignantly.

"I know you wanna!" She called back.

"But blondes are more fun!" I raised an arm into their view and pointed in Silica's direction.

"Hey!" Cried Aoki.

"What's the brunette's mating call?" I asked. "'have all the blondes left?'"

"Please don't fight" said Silica.

"Don't worry Silica-san, this is normal" I said. "Just wait until we have a common enemy"

"Yeah, we got in sooo much trouble in school because of our ability to team up on people!"

"You two know each other IRL?" Asked the blonde.

"Hai" I said.

"But aren't you too young to be in her grade?" Silica seemed confused.

"He skipped a few" explained Aoki. "If he had a keyboard, he could probably hack his way out of here, and change Kayaba's phone ringtone to the My Little Pony theme! All before he had a chance to react!"

"Man, I wish I had a keyboard right now" I said, sighing. "I guess we better get to sleep" I said.

"Goodnight Teika and Aoki-senpai!" I heard the something in the bed.

"Yeah, g'night" I answered.

Dreams took hold, and not the pleasurable kind.

We stood in the forest, Silica, Aoki, and I. There were three [Dire Wolf]s in for the of us, prepared to pounce. I felt the breeze on my face as I tuned into the battle, applying all of my focus to what was to come. Silica was to my right, she had her knife backhanded, and was crouching, a fearful yet dangerous glint in her eye. Aoki stood at my left, and she had her wooden sword drawn. She was smiling, waiting for either me to give the signal, or the wolves to pounce. Something felt wrong, like a gut feeling, but I ignored it.

I gripped my wooden weapons' hilt, and squatted, the skill [Slant] activating. I knew that if I timed it right, I could slice through my enemy, and damage Silica's in the process, helping her out without taking her xp and col. I quickened my breathing slightly, increasing my heart rate, zipping adrenaline through my veins. 'Let's do this'.

As one, all six combatants moved as one. The battle began.

I withdrew my sword, and swung in a single fluid motion, slicing through the wolf's face, killing it instantly, and kept swinging. My sword imbedded itself within the side of the next wolf, and it moved in mid air, now not directed at Silica; this gave her the chance to take it out easily. She didn't miss the chance, using a quick knife skill to take it out. I spun to check on my other friend. What I saw made me gasp.

Aoki was backed against a tree, her sword barely keeping the maw of the wolf at bay. My eyes widened in surprise. Her wooden blade snapped, and the wolf descended on her, snapping on her neck. "Help….me" she muttered as blood shot everywhere. She exploded into pixels as the last of her hp was taken by the wolf, it's name [Lupa, Queen of the Wolves].

"Natsuki!" I called. "You bitch!" I shouted, and ran at the wolf, raising my sword to slice it into sandwich meat. Its head snapped around. It seemed to get larger before my eyes until it stood eye level with me. Not backing off, I sliced down, trying to avenge my fallen friend. It used a paw to smack me to the side. I flew through the air, and slammed against a tree. I felt a snap in my back, and I couldn't move as a sharp pain shot up my spinal chord.

"T-T-Teika-senpai!" Called Silica. "Help!"

Lupa pounced on her, and bit her screaming head off easily.

She too died.

"Nooo! Silica!" I screamed. The wolf came towards me, its snout matted with blood. It pulled back its lips, and the teeth were stained red. "Damn…. you" I grunted. "DAMN YOU!"

Silica woke to a thump. She sat up, and rubbed her eyes groggily. She checked her HUD. 'It's like, two am. What woke me up?' She thought. She heard another thump, and it was coming from beyond the foot of the bed. She blinked rapidly. 'What the…?' She checked Aoki beside her, and found the pink haired girl to be sleeping peacefully. Silica pulled the thin white sheet off of her, and put her feet on the floor. She walked over to the foot of the bed in the dark, and took a peek.

The saw the figure of Teika laying there. He was tossing and turning, muttering unintelligibly in his sleep. Startled, she walked over to the nightstand beside the bed, and touched the candle there. It asked if she wanted it to be turned on, and she touched 'confirm'. It lit, temporarily banishing the darkness. She grabbed the brass tray the candle was on, and brought it over to Teika.

He was sweating. A lot. She placed a hand on his chest, and felt his racing heart. 'Wow! Something is definitely wrong!'. Forcing herself to be calm (barely), she quickly hopped back into the bed, leaving the candle beside Teika, and shook Aoki awake. "Aoki-senpai! Please wake up! Something is wrong with Teika-senpai!"

"Wa-" started Aoki, and she sat up.

"Quickly! Something is wrong with Teika-senpai!" Said Silica quickly.

At this, Aoki's eyes snapped open. She got out of bed immediately, and took the few steps to round the edge of the bed. She gasped at the sight of her friend. She knelt at his head, and lifted it into her lap. She stroked his sweaty hair, and murmured "Shhhh, I'm here. Your ok, I'm here. Shh" over and over. She was acting calm, but Silica could see the fear in her eyes was very much real. Her motions continued for a few minutes before any effect took shape. All the while, Silica sat beside him, holding his hand in a death grip.

His breathing started to slow, and he was no longer muttering. Silica breathed a sigh of relief. She may have just met the kid, but she was really getting attached to him. She saw his eyes flutter open. "Nat...suki-chan?" He whispered. 'Is that her real name?' Thought Silica.

"Shh, sleep Stephen-kun" responded Aoki. "Sleep" she kept stroking his hair, and he smiled.

"M'k" his eyes closed and his breathing became rhythmic. Aoki didn't cease her stroking for at least five minutes, and in that time, Silica didn't move. 'They care deeply for each other' she thought. 'I am like a third wheel'. The little blonde girl noticed a tear fall from Aoki's face, and it landed on Teika's cheek. She then saw the older girl's' shoulders start to shake.

Aoki gently lifted his head, and backed away, putting it on the ground. She then backed into a corner, and let a few tears drop onto the wooden floor. Her shoulder shook, and her hair obscured her face as her head hung. Silica moved to comfort her. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing" answered Aoki. "Just scared, that's all".

"We are safe, Aoki-senapi! We have Teika-senpai!" Exclaimed the little girl quietly.

"It may not be enough though" said her new friend cryptically.

 **And the little girl learns more about them...**


	8. Chapter 8-Heated Heart part I

**thanks to thunderwolf7226 and gothgod9415 for their reviews!**

The next day, we all headed back into the forest. Aoki and I ditched our beginners swords, and used the wooden ones. Unlike last time, we walked through the forest, looking for something to pick a fight with. I did not share my dream from last night with my friends, but they kept shooting me weird looks out of the corner of their eye. The canopy the tree branches made gave the place a serene feeling, like we were intruders in nature. After about five minutes of searching I stopped walking.

"Wassup?" Asked Aoki.

"Nothing, I just remembered that I chose [Detection] as one of my starting skills, so I should be able to find the wolves by hearing instead of sight." I explained. I sat down, and leaned against a tree trunk, shutting my eyes. I felt the cool breeze against my face. I smelled the air, full of different flavors. I heard the rustling of leaves as the wind blew them against each other.

There! The pitter-patter of of little paws on the ground as they made haste… towards us! "Incoming" I said, standing. My two female friends gave me a puzzled look, but understood when I drew my wooden blade. We all backed up, forming a wall of three. I glanced to my right, and saw Silica, ready to fight, but with a wavering composure. To my left, Aoki, prepared to follow me to the end of existence, and further if need be. "Here they come!" I warned, and a few seconds later, three wolves burst forth, snarling and growling. 'Wait… this is too much like my dream…' I shook my head. 'That is illogical thinking. That dream was illogical'.

I readied myself. 'Now at least Aoki and I don't have to take on two a piece.' I growled deep in my throat, and ran forward, a [Slant] prepared. The [Dire Wolf] facing me charged forth. I sliced from bottom left to top right, carving through its face, and shoving my sword deep into the wolf to my right. Silica charged forward, her knife glowing. She struck it in the neck while I held it suspended in the air, killing it.

"Damnit!" I heard behind me. I whipped around to see Aoki backed against a tree, the wolf progressing on her. I saw two hp bars appear beside it, and the name [Queen of Wolves, Lupa]. 'No!' I thought.

"Kyaaaat!" I yelled as I ran to it, catching its attention. "I won't let you take them from me twice!" My blade was held over my head, and it started glowing blue. The wolf looked back, eye level with me. It tried to bat me away with its paw, but I swung my sword down, slicing the appendage off.

It backed away with a howl. I crouched low, prepared to fight. "Come at me!" I screamed at it. Lupa growled at me, its paw regenerating before my eyes. 'Ok, that is going to suck fighting against.'. It seemed to be staring to my right. "Look at me! This is my fight!" I roared, dashing forward, a [Horizontal] slashing attack started.

At the last second, it tried to snap its jaws at me. I sliced, stunning it briefly. Knowing that there was a small moment after every skill when you are frozen, and prone to counterattacks. The only way to combat this, or so the booklet says, it to chain attacks together. Right after my [Horizontal], I kept turning. I raised my sword over my head, and sliced downward with that skill, and then the diagonal skill.

I chained these to each other over and over, in that order, slicing through Lupa's hp like a hot knife through butter.

It kept stumbling back, and finally, I cleaved through the first bar. It moved quickly out of my range. It's red eyes started glowing. Raising its head, Lupa let out an ear piercing howl. I covered my ears as the sound shot through my eardrums. It felt like my very skull was vibrating. I fell to my knees, the howl somehow making me unable to stand. I forced myself to look to the side at my friends. They too, we unable to fight because of the noise. Then… it stopped. I took my hands from my head, and looked up. I saw eight, no, ten [Dire Wolf]s, standing slightly behind Lupa.

I gulped, and backed away beside my friends, my fire have cooled. I steeled myself. "I won't let this stop me" I said to myself. "This is still my fight!" I got ready to charge forth, but I felt a hand on my right shoulder. I looked to see Silica shaking her head.

"No Senpai, this is our fight". She ran forward, at the mob of wolves.

"Silica!" I shouted. "Don't!"

She didn't answer, or slow. A single wolf leapt to meet her, but she jumped higher, and in mid air, landed on top of it, kicking off even higher. She rose to three meters in the air, and raised the heel of her leather shoe, and ax kicked Lupa, all in the space of two seconds. She and the Queen of Wolves entangled in a deadly dance, where the victor would be the only one alive.

Her knife flashed wickedly, biting into the torso of the Queen, and then she would dodge away quickly to the side, while Lupa lunged to her. She would then slice at the body again. Intent on the fight, she wore a scowl that did not befit her, but she never wavered, never slowing.

"You hurt Teika-senpai!"she cried. "Now you will pay!"

Even the [Dire Wolf]s didn't enter the fight. We just watched while they tried to kill each other. I saw Lupa slice Silica's arm as she didn't dodge quickly. Silica winced, and she couldn't get out of the way as the Queen descended for the kill. I was there, shoving my blade into its jaw, horizontally to stop it. I felt the weight of the thing fall on my arms, and I struggled to keep it from harming Silica.

"Now, Aoki-chan!" I shouted, gritting my teeth with the effort of holding Lupa up. I noticed something yellow drip from the teeth. 'Better not get bitten' I thought.

"Hyaaaa!" I heard, and the weight lessened as Lupa fell to the side. Aoki had shoved her sword deep into the Queen's' chest, driving through the heart. The wolf was shoved against a tree. I moved in quickly, not missing the opportunity.

I raised my sword high above my head, and sliced Lupa's head off. All of the [Dire Wolf]s called by her disappeared in blue lights. I walked over to a tree, and sat down heavily with a grunt.

A window popped up giving me the xp and col for the kill. One item intrigued me, it was called [Wolf Fang]. It was a knife, and gave a considerable attack boost to the wielder. I closed the windows, and closed my eyes.

"Sorry if I did anything wrong" squeaked my blonde friend.

"You saved the lot of us, you were a big help Silica-chan"I said with my eyes shut. I heard her gasp at the different honorific. I felt my left arm being lifted, and a body snuggle up with me. She let the arm drape over her. Silica sighed contentedly.

"Ah-hem!" Aoki started. "Explain your words from earlier, what did you mean when you said to the big wolf that it won't take us again?" I opened one eye to look at her. She had ear hands on her hips, and a frown on her face.

"I had a dream last night of a mini boss called [Lupa, Queen of the Wolves] killing you two." I opened my eyes. I saw Aoki cover her mouth.

"Oh… that's why you…" and then she stopped.

"... I what?" I prompted.

Aoki averted her eyes. Silica spoke timidly. "Umm, last night you were sweating, and mumbling. I found you, and woke up Aoki-senpai, and she calmed you down."

I looked at the little girl on my side. Her face was resting on my chest looking up at me. "Hmm. Thanks." I said. Then I had a thought. "Hey, umm, Silica-chan…. when did you get so good at fighting?"

She averted her eyes also. "A nice girl named Haru-san taught me." She mumbled.

"And before you too get to cuddly, mind telling me why you are snuggling?" Asked Aoki.

"Well, I'm tired" I said sheepishly. "So I sat down."

"And I thought Teika-chan looked comfy, so I sat next to him" mumbled Silica. "Sorry" she got up, and walked away, sitting at another tree.

"And what if another pack of [Dire Wolfs] comes, and attacks?" Demanded Aoki.

"I'm sure Silica-chan can take them by herself." I closed my eyes again.

"I'm not that good" said the modest girl.

I stood up. "Ok, since I have all the col from that mini boss thing, I'm going to the Town of Beginnings to get some materials." As a slight emphasis on my point, I withdrew a hp potion I got from a mob drop (how to [Dire Wolf]s carry potions?), and downed it, restoring my low life slowly. "You two coming, or are you going to wait here?"

"I wanna go!" Exclaimed Silica.

"Sure" said Aoki with a shrug.

We headed off southeast, towards the starting town. We traveled in silence. After we left the forest, an open plain rest before us. "Hey, I'm level eleven, you two?"

"Eight" responded Aoki.

"Seven" said Silica.

"Ok, Silica-chan, please kill any mobs we come across" I said."

"Ok!" She replied. She ran forward at the sight of a [Frenzy Boar], and started attacking it.

Aoki caught up to me. "Do you like Silica?" She asked.

"Yeah, she's a nice person, and I am glad to call her my friend." I answered, perplexed by her question.

"I mean… do you have feelings for her" she said quietly while the blonde sliced through boars, earning the small amount of xp.

I thought for a moment. "I don't think so, why?"

"You just looked happy when she sat beside you"

"I'm just glad she likes me enough to do that!" I let out a short laugh. "At first… I didn't know what to make of her. Originally, I thought she was going to scam us for some gear and col, and disappear the next morning." I shook my head. "Now…. I'm happy to call her my friend"

I felt Aoki's hand grab mine. "Ok" was her response. I looked at her when she did this, but she stared straight ahead. 'Hrmph. Whatever makes her happy. She usually has a good reason for everything she does'.

Silica sliced through another one of the beginning mobs, earning another sliver of xp. She got over her unease about killing anything, even though it was computer generated, a while ago. 'Almost level nine!' She thought. 'Only five or six more boars'. She looked around, and was a little disappointed to see that there were no more [Frenzy Boars] in the immediate area. 'Hm. Oh well'. She looked back at her friends, planning to join back with them. As she ran back to her new friend's, she saw that Aoki and Teika were holding hands. She felt her smile melt away, and a general unease settle into her gut. She didn't understand where this came from, however. All she knew was that she didn't like Aoki holding his hand.

She came back to them, and plastered a smile on her face. "I'm almost level nine!" She said.

Teika's eyebrows raised. "Good!" He said, and reached out a hand, ruffling her peers' hair. She closed her eyes at this.

"I'm not a dog!" She said indignantly, even though the gesture made a little of the unease lift away.

"No, you're just so cute it's hard not to do that, sorry" he removed his hand.

'He called me cute!' She thought, happy again. Silica fell in stride with her friends as they walked towards the town.

We made our way to the center, through the bustling people. I found Haru, still at her little carpet. She had the bottles of various liquids on display as she knelt there. A rather large looking player was walking away, putting some potions in his inventory.

"Hey, Haru-san!" I said to her, squatting.

"Hello Teika. So, decided to make white a trend?" She looked at my hair.

"Nah, I did this IRL too. Was wondering. I'm out of hp potions, got any?"

"Yeah, how many you need?" She asked, opened game her inventory.

I looked back at my friends. "Twelve ok?" I asked her.

"Yeah, hang on" she pulled them out. Before she could name a price though, I spoke again.

"Just wondering, but how rare is this?"I pulled out a bottle of a vile looking yellow liquid. She took it, tapping it to open its status window. Her eyes opened wide at it.

"Holy shit" she muttered. "How did you get this?" She asked.

"Fought a mini boss outside of Horunka" I answered. "Trade?"

She looked up at me. "Yes… but since I like you guys, I won't scam you" she pulled out another eight bottles. "At least take this." She shook her head. "Hell, fifty hp potions doesn't add up to what this is worth. You know what? I will even give you a little tidbit! Deeper in the city, to the south, there is a castle called 'Black Iron Palace'. It houses the Monument of Life, where all of the usernames of every player are. If someone dies, their name is crossed out. You might want to check it out"

I nodded. "Thanks" I took the bottles, and gave seven to each of my friends, keeping six. I then followed the directions I got from the alchemist. Let's just say that the palace wasn't hard to find.

Being the tallest series of buildings inside the town it was large, and rectangular. It had two domes beside each other, one larger than the other. There were large black steeples, one at each corner, raising High into the air. Overall, it was large and foreboding.

It gave me a shiver as I stood outside it, but I swallowed the feeling of death the thing gave off. I walked through the twenty foot tall iron doors. What lay before me was a large, circular open room. White tile lay upon the ground. Opposite me along the wall was a large obsidian layer. On it, were etched names. I gawked at the imposing wall. I quickly found everyone I knews' name.

I saw that Aoki had the symbol for fire next to her name. 'I guess there is no hiding it now' I thought. What drew my attention was a name in scarlet red, like blood. Written in the Latin/English alphabet, was "Garr". 'What'd he do to deserve a red name?' I thought. 'Must be terrible. Idiot'.

Then, I felt something. I didn't know where it came from, but I heard a slight scratching sound, like metal against stone. I listened harder. I turned to my left, and the sound grew. Aoki must have noticed the intense expression on my face. "Hey, what's up?" She asked.

"I hear something" I said.

I started walking that way, towards a staircase. I walked up it, and reached a door. I opened the black iron entrance, and proceeded down a long corridor, barely aware of my surroundings. I suddenly found myself in front of a bookcase. I blinked rapidly, not sure how I ended up here. 'Ok, so I have to go through this. It's just another challenge brought forward by a system.' I mentally cracked my knuckles.

"Why are we here?" I heard behind me, breaking my concentration.

I turned and saw my two friends. Glad they came, I smiled. "Something is behind this bookcase, and I want to know what!"

They nodded. "Ok, so what now?" Asked Aoki.

I turned back to the bookcase. "I am figuring that out now". I looked at the books. They had names like History of Aincrad, and Encyclopedia of Monsters. I tried pulling out the encyclopedia, but it didn't budge. 'Figures' I thought. 'so, if I was the creator of a video game, I would make the way to open a hidden area obvious, but not easy. Or vice versa'. I lifted my head.

"Ok, try pulling books" I said. "If you find one that moves, try pulling it out." We scrambled all along the wall, trying fruitlessly to pull out the volumes. I pulled up a chair, and tried the top row. The top left book moved. I was able to tilt it at a forty five degree angle, and I heard a click. 'One…. ok… got it!'. I wracked my brain. 'So.. the magic number is three. This won't be easy, so I have to think overly simple, yet difficult.' I looked around, surveying the room. I took account everything, placement, number, everything went into accord. 'Is it really that easy?' I asked myself. I spotted only two torches.

I ran to one of them, and pulled. It tilted, but did not leave the wall. When it went about thirty degrees, I heard a click. I ran to the other, and repeated the motion, feeling the same click. I then spun around, and looked around for something that had two copies within the room. I saw one table, with three chairs around it. After tilting each chair, all the items snapped back to their original position, and a louder click came from the bookcase, and it swung ourwards. I saw a dark staircase made of stone, heading down.

I turned to my friends. "Who is ready for some hidden treasure?"

 **I do not own Garr or Haru. Those belong to Failtastic Belt, and he has been gracious enough to allow me to include them for my purposes.**


	9. Chapter 9-Heated Heart part II

**in case you haven't reread it yet, I changed ch5. It is going to explain a lot of things happening later in the story.**

 **thanks to thunderwolf7226 for proof reading!**

 **Shoutout to Failtastic Belt! If you read ch5, you will understand why!**

I gulped at the entrance. 'Well, that is spooky' I thought to myself. I turned back to my friends. "So… we going?" I asked.

Silica looked afraid. "Right behind you" she muttered.

Aoki seemed to be the only one not suddenly afraid of whatever was down here. "Let's go" she pushed past me, and ahead. Silica and I exchanged glances, and followed.

Our feet clapped on the stone stairs as we descended. The only sounds I could hear were the faint scratching, and our shoes. The staircase spiraled counterclockwise, as per medieval style. The light dimmed severely, and there were no torches. The overall effect was one of a haunted mansion. We finally reached the bottom of the stairs, and a long dark hallway lay before us. 'Definitely unnerving'.As I thought this, I heard a scream in front of me. I opened my menu, and flipped it around, using it as a light. I saw Aoki swatting the air in front of her. "What's wrong?" I asked urgently.

"Spider web!" She spat. She stopped swinging her arms wildly. "Sorry" she mumbled. "Can't see anything in here."

"Hang on" I said. I pulled out a few sticks from my stash of wood I was saving for later. I sat on the ground. "Hey, can someone hold these still?" I had two sticks parallel on the ground in front of me. Aoki squatted, and held them. I took a third, wider stick, and stick it in between the smaller ones. I put my palms against it, and started spinning the wooden rod quickly. After a few minutes, I smelled smoke, but no fire. I put down the stick, my arms sore.

"How about this!" Said Silica. She brought out some [Boar Fur]. "If you put this right at where the sticks meet, it might catch the fur!"on She handed the wad of fur to me. I placed it down next to the sticks like kindling. 'Knowing the game mechanics, this might actually work.

After giving my arms a chance to rejuvenate, I quickly went to work on the ground. I spun the stick, and soon, the burning smell reached my nostrils. My arms burned, but I kept on. I spun, and then, a small spark! I stopped, and bent down, blowing gently on the coal. Soon, the small spark became a flame that was burning quietly. I raised the stick I was trying to spin a moment ago over the fire, and after a second of hesitation, it caught. Whooping, I lifted the burning stick. 'Take that Cardinal!' I thought. It illuminated the area before us. The corridor was long, and the stones were pitch black, almost making me miss them. There was a single black iron door on the other side the scratching was coming from that way.

I took point ( as to ward off more spider webs), and walked briskly, but carefully towards the door. Once at it, I saw there was no handle.

"Hrmph" I grunted.

"What's wrong?" Asked Aoki.

"No door handle" I said. I saw writing on the door, writing in some sort of hieroglyphs. I ran my fingers over it. First, was a door, or an entrance. Next was a ring. Halo? Portal? Then, a scythe. Death? Or maybe, an actual being. Finally, a skull. Definitely death. Time for a shot in the dark. "Ok, there are inscriptions on the door. Using context clues based on what I do know, and guessing for what I don't, it says 'He who passes will meet an end by the Reaper of Souls'" I said it like a prophecy just because that's what it felt like. "I think that this Reaper is a mini boss. Hmm, I think we can take him if we devise a strategy."

"Are you sure?" Asked Silica.

"Hey, if he says we can win, then we can win!" Exclaimed Aoki. "Right Teika-kun?"

"Hai. I will do my best to create our winning move, but it might take time"

"Ok, so we hide until then, because no one is stupid enough to take on a boss alone, or even as a duo, right?" Asked my first friend.

"Exactly." Was my response. I looked back at the door, and noticed something a little ways down. It looked like a handprint. I placed my open palm against it, and I heard a click. The door swung open. The black emptiness met me. I looked back at my friends, to see if they were ready. After two nods, I started walking. Once we entered the blackness, it became illuminated by torches, lit with a dark blue flame. It was a large circular room, with many pillars near the edge. One of these columns obscured our vision into the rest of the room. My torch went out. I placed the stick back in my inventory. I crept forward, my friends right behind. Once at the pillar, I looked around it, just peeking.

Floating above the floor, and moving around, was a seven foot cloaked boss. It had a skull for a face, and a scythe longer than its height in hand. The name above it was quite fitting, [The Fatal Scythe]. I gritted my teeth, and went back behind the pillar.

"Ok, who has the highest agility stat?" I asked. We all compared, and I did, which I found not comforting, considering my plan. "Great. I will act as aggro for it, and you two will hit it fast and hard. Hopefully stun it, so I can join in. Got the plan?"

"How about we leave, and get more people?" Asked Aoki.

"That is a better idea" I admitted. I looked at the door. "Hey, guys" I said slowly. "Where is the door?" They spun around, and saw only the blank surface of the black stone wall.

"You have to be shitting me" grunted Aoki.

"What do we do Teika-kun?" Asked Silica.

Having a hunch (and hoping I was wrong), I peeked around the massive multi meter diameter column. I looked everywhere, but the door was either obscured, or gone. "Damnit!" I swore. "Ok, same plan. Ready?" I asked.

They nodded. I steeled my nerves. 'This is what I get for being the fastest' I thought.

I took one final glance around the pillar. The boss was facing the other direction. I took out a stick from my inventory, and lept out into the open. I threw the stick. "Hey! Bonsey!" I shouted. The stick flew true, and hit the boss in the head. It stopped moving, and turned slowly. I took out my sword from its sheathe just in case I needed it.

Its eyes glowed red once it saw me. 'Ok, here comes the fun part' I thought sarcastically. I crouched, ready to run. It raced towards me, at almost breakneck speed. My eyes widened in fear, and I jumped behind a pillar, huffing. 'Now that it doesn't see me, it should just go away' I thought. I heard the sound of metal on stone above me, and then a huge crash. I flinched, and looked up. I saw that the pillar was missing everything above my head. 'Shit'. It was looking down at me, scythe raised to strike. I rolled to the left.

I stood up, and sprinted at [The Fatal Scythe]. After prying the blade out of the rubble, it turned towards me, but not fast enough. I used [Sonic Leap], and jumped high about everything it, chaining a [Vertical]. I sliced it, from top to bottom. Once I hit the ground, I leapt away to survey the damage. It had three hp bars, and I didn't see a difference in the first of them. 'What? I hit it in the head with my strongest Skill!'

It sped towards me faster than I could react.

"Teika!" I heard Aoki scream. I raised my wooden sword just in time to block the underhanded strike. The curved blade sliced into the flat of my wooden one, and cleaved right through it. My eyes widened in fear as its weapon didn't slow. I was sent backwards from the force of the hit.

My body slammed against a pillar, and the breath left me. Dazed, I looked up in time to see Aoki step in front of me, open palm raised against the boss. "[Ignium Meis]!" She screamed. Her whole body caught fire. My mind translated from Latin to English. '[Ignite my power]?' I thought.

She started to float in the air, a scarlet aura of flame surrounding her like a bubble. "[Fluctum Ignis]!" [Wave of Fire]. She raised her right hand, palm open towards [The Fatal Scythe], and a beam of scarlet tongues of the power lept out, searing the air with a hiss. It enveloped the boss, and it was pushed back. "Haaaaaaaa!" Yelled my friend, and the heat increased. After mere seconds of the fire striking it, [The Fatal Scythe] melted away. Aoki's eyes closed, and she fell from her floating state, ten feet off the ground.

I quickly caught her in a bridal position. "Aoki!" I said. "Aoki! Wake up!" I lay her on the ground lightly.

Her eyes fluttered. "T-Teika-kun?" She asked, opening her eyes halfway.

"Damnit! What in hell did you do?" I demanded.

"Save you…. anything for Teika….kun…." her eyes shut again. 'At least she is alive' I thought. Now I could process what happened. She used her Magic to obliterate an enemy we would have otherwise been defenseless against. 'Damn, people are really going to seek this out when it becomes known just how powerful it is' I thought. 'She probably was looking through her menu trying to find a way to help me.' I sighed. 'Sometimes, I think she cares a little too much'.

"Teika-kun? What happened to Aoki-senpai?" Silica appeared behind me. I looked at her. She was shaking a little, probably from shock. I stood up, and hugged her.

"Do you remember Kayaba saying that six people are going to have powers? Well, Aoki is one of them. She used it, and my guess is they take a lot of energy to use. She is exhausted" I said.

"Will she be alright?" Asked the little blonde.

"I'm sure of it" I backed away from her.

"Are you ok? You received a hit from that boss" she looked genuinely concerned.

I looked at my HUD and nearly jumped out of my skin. My hp was below five percent, and was blinking red. Keeping composed, I answered.

"Yeah, it's going to take more than that to take me down!" I said heartily. 'Not much more' I thought. 'What if I didn't raise my sword in time….'

"Ugh" I heard behind me, I saw Aoki sitting up. Her eyes opened, and she saw me. Leaping to her feet, she tackled me to the ground. "Teika-kun! Are you ok?"

I fell on my back. 'Ow' I thought. I heard a beeping noise. My minuscule hp dropped a little further. 'I better be careful, or she will literally hug me to death!' "Can you please let my arms free so I can drink a potion?" I asked.

"No! I am not letting go!" She said. I laughed slightly.

"Fine then" I rolled over, putting her below me. Our faces were centimeters apart. Her breath was tickling my lips. "Thanks" I murmured.

"Anything for you" she responded. 'Ok…. not creepy at all' I thought, but I kept my thoughts to myself. I realized her arms had released me, so I stood up carefully. Once up, I reached a hand down to her.

She smiled, and grabbed it. I pulled her to her feet, and then let go to opened my inventory. After downing a potion, I looked at my friends. Silica had a faint blush on her cheeks, but that was probably from the intensity from the earlier situation. For some reason, Aoki had flushed cheeks as well. Not pausing to ponder this, I looked around. "Where's the door?" I asked.

"There!" Said Aoki, her voice cracking slightly. She was pointing at a section of the wall. I saw the black iron entrance was right where we left it, and was wide open. Smiling, I started towards the door. "I think we should get out of here" I said.

Aoki caught up to me, and held my hand, intertwining our fingers. "I agree" she said. She had a very content smile on her face, and the flush deepened slightly. I turned my focus forward. 'Whatever floats her boat' I thought. 'Man am I glad to have her as a friend'.

 **Accepting all reviews! Please write!**


	10. Chapter 10-Separation

**thanks to DJVampiStep for your thoughts!**

 **to gothgod9415: Wraith will be entering in a few chapters.**

once outside the tall Black Iron Palace, I saw the mob of people in the Town of Beginnings. I gulped. Aoki saw my weakness, and smiled knowingly.

"Hey, Silica-chan, let's go look for an inn. We will drop Teika-kun off at Agil's shop to restock on supplies, ok?" She said. I smiled slightly. 'I am glad she cares' I thought. She winked at me, showing that she knew what was wrong.

"Ok!" Said Silica. "Then we get some girl time!" She pumped her fist in the air. "Who is Agil?"

I answered. "He is a guy we met a few days ago. We trust him" she nodded.

"If Teika-kun trusts him, I trust him!" She announced.

I laughed, and rubbed her hair. She had an indignant expression on her face, which made me laugh more. "Silica-chan! You are so cute!" I said.

"Hrmph!" She didn't object though to my rubbing.

I steeled myself, and got ready to enter the crowd. Silica noticed the sudden change in my expression. "Something wrong, Teika-kun?" She asked.

I smiled. "I don't want to say it…. I am afraid of crowds" I said. I averted my eyes.

"Ok? Is that it?" She asked.

I looked back at her questioningly. "Yeah. I get claustrophobic around so many people"

"What is claustrophobic?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

Aoki laughed. "I'll tell you later." She said, taking my hand, ready to lead my through the mob. I gave her a serious expression, and a nod, hoping that said my gratitude. She tightened her grip slightly to acknowledge she understood. She then walked into the crowd, me not far behind. Once we entered the wall of flesh, I felt it.

My heart started racing, my breath picking up. I felt the tension in every muscle in my body. My vision tunneled, black encompassing the outskirts of my vision. I must have been crushing Aoki's hand, and I knew it… I just couldn't help it. After what seemed like years, of the pressing, the shoving… it all left me.

I saw I was standing inside the shop, the walls lined with wares, and the dark skinned owner taking inventory. "Umm, Teika-kun?" I heard next to me.

I looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I think you have crushed my hand sufficiently" she said. I let go, a sheepish grin on my face.

"Sorry" I mumbled.

"Well, we will see you!" She said, waving, and going back out with Silica. After the door shut, I sighed.

"Hey man, what's up?" Said the deep rumble of Agil's voice.

I turned and faced the massive man with the same sheepish grin. "Sorry, can't stand crowds" I mumbled.

"Hey man, this is a judgement free zone" he held his hands up as he said this. "If ya need a break from it all, I have no problem" he went back to counting things.

"Hey, Agil. Your shop is two stories, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, what'ya got in mind?" He asked.

"Do you use the second floor as a bedroom?"

"Yup, but I have a spare room…. lookin' for a place to stay?" He turned back to me.

"I'd pay handsomely" I said quickly, but he waved my words off.

"Don't worry man. As long as the girls are ok with sharing a room with you, and you don't make a ruckus in there" he winked. "I got no problem in you staying as long as you like"

"Thanks, seriously" I said walking up. 'Other than that suggestive remark, I really like this guy' I thought. I held out my hand.

He smiled, and grasped it, shaking it firmly. "Again, no prob man".

"Do you sell decent weapons? Like, other than total b.s. stuff?" I asked. "Broke my sword."

"Yeah man. Here" he opened a menu, and started looking through it. "What'ya got in mind?"

"Hmm. I want something with serious swinging power with high destructive force…. a one handed battle ax?" I asked.

"Hmm, price range, Str range?" He said, narrowing the list.

"Price doesn't matter, and the heaviest you have"

"Hmm, how about this" he tapped something, and a weapon materialized in his hand.

It was three quarters of a meter long, with a wooden shaft for a handle. The head was that of a hatchet, made of black iron. The head itself was large, the blade having a good twenty centimeters of edge. He handed it to me with both hands. I grasped the handle with my right hand, and pulled it up.

I felt the muscles in my arm strain to lift it. It's weight was certainly large, as to lift it easily I grabbed it with both hands. 'Good thing I saved some StP for this!' "Give me a moment please" I said. I gave it back to him, and placed the spare points on Str. I then grabbed it again, lifting it with much more success.

"Great!" I commented. I checked the durability. 275/275. "How much?" I asked.

"How about, twenty five hundred." He said.

I blinked rapidly. 'Cheaper than crap, but ok'. I took out the coins, and gave them to him.

"You do realize that you could have sent them to me via the System, right?" He asked, taking the bag.

"You do realize you could have not screwed yourself over by selling this thing so cheap, right?" I countered, trying (and failing) to imitate his voice. He laughed slightly.

"Touchè" he grunted.

I opened my menu. "Hey, dude, can you walk my through how to send a pm again?"

"Yeah, sure." He said. After he did, I sent a message to both of my friends.

Recipient: Aoki, Silica.

Message: "found a place. Agil is letting us stay above his shop. Y'all can come back now".

After sending that, I placed the weapon in my inventory. I saw the knife I got from Lupa earlier, Wolf Fang. "Do you have wrapping paper? I have something I want to give to a friend as a gift. And armor if you have some light, but strong stuff."

"Well, yeah, here" he reopened the menu, and let me look through it. After choosing what I wanted, I payed his a respectable amount, and he gave me the items.

I wrapped the knife in brown paper, as to obscure its shape. Right when I was done, the door opened. I looked to see my two friends walk in. I quickly put the wrapped item in my inventory, and walked over to greet them.

"Before you say a word" started Aoki. "I really need to vent right now.". I nodded, and she started pounding my chest with punches. I stood there, like a brick, taking it.

"Damn beta testers! Taking everything from us and keeping it for themselves! Making the rest of us work harder to achieve half the result!" Each syllable was enunciated with a strike to my chest. After that she stopped. "Thanks, I needed that".

"Hello, Agil-san! I am Silica!" The little blonde bowed to the tall man.

"Hey, Silica! No need to be formal here, we are all equal in this place" he said.

"Oh, yessir!" She bowed again.

I laughed, and ruffled her hair. "Silly. He wants you to speak as though you are with Aoki-chan and I"

"Hrmph!" She squeaked while I rubbed her head. "Why do you keep doing that?"

I stopped. "Sorry. It's just so tempting"

"I like it! I was just wondering why!" She exclaimed when my hand left her head.

"You never pet my hair!" Said Aoki indignantly.

"That's because you're twenty centimeters taller than me!" I exclaimed. "Sometimes I want to know what the weather is like up there! Silica-chan is right here, and is easy to pet."

"So you like shorter girls?" Asked Aoki, raising ear eyebrows.

"Man, this is soooo entertaining!" Said Agil.

"Dude! Help me!" I pleaded.

"Nope, you have dug your own grave" he said.

"So, what is your type?" Aoki continued her interrogation.

"Umm, I plead the fifth amendment?" I said hopefully.

"We aren't in America, we are in Aincrad!" She said. "Answer!" She took a threatening step forward.

I thought about it for a moment. "Umm, someone who truly doesn't need me. Someone who can be self sufficient. Great personality…"

"How about physical characteristics?" She nearly growled.

"Where did this come from?" I asked.

"No where. Answer the questions!" She commanded, grabbing the front of my faded purple shirt.

"Why are you being so mean to him?" Asked Silica.

"Because I want to know, and my time in America taught me, that when I want something, I have to work to get it. I am working for these answers!" She looked back at me. "So, what will it be?" She asked, face centimeters from mine.

"Umm, physical traits don't really matter…" I said, which I was hoping the correct answer.

"Bull shit. I know every guy has a list of physical traits he wants his date to have!" She said.

I thought wildly, picking things from mid air. "Umm, I would prefer somewhere around my height, fairly thin, but not malnourished…" I started.

She dropped me. I stumbled back a step. "I see how it is. You would prefer Silica over me" she stormed up the stairs in a fury.

"Did I say something wrong?" I asked. Agil was laughing.

"Man, you are the most clueless person I know" he said.

"Well, enlighten me please!" I exclaimed. I hate not being able to figure something out almost as much as I hate crowds.

"Nope, sorry man, but that is something each guy must figure out for himself… the hard way" he said.

'And I don't have google to help me!' I thought. 'Girls!' I started walking up the stairs, fairly annoyed.

"Umm, Teika-kun?" I tuned around.

"What!?" I demanded.

Silica flinched. "Umm, never mind"

My expression softened. "Sorry, I am just really annoyed at Aoki-chan right now. She usually isn't like this." I said, walking back to her, and ruffling her hair.

She dodged my hand, and dashed up the stairs. I stood dumbfounded. "What did I do?" I asked Agil.

"You snapped at her. Get ready to be chewed out by that other friend of yours. Sorry man." He said with a knowing look.

"Hey, thanks Agil" I said.

"Dude, if you guys are always like this, I will pay you to stay here! And then charge tickets for the first ever Aincrad Comedians!" He laughed. "You better go up before they hunt you down"

I sighed. "G'night" I siad, heading up the stairs. Once up, there were two doors, one to either side. I heard hushed whispers through the one to the left. I knocked on it, and waited for a response. After a moment, I didn't get one, all that happened was that the whispering stopped. "I'm coming in" I said.

I opened the door. The decor was very basic; wooden walls, ceiling, floor. There was a chair and a desk in a bed was queen size, with ample room for the girls. The two friends were sitting on the bed, and Aoki was hugging Silica. The little one was crying. "You got mad at her? What did she do to you?" Demanded Aoki.

"I am sorry" I said honestly. "I took out my frustrations on her, and that was wrong"

"Damnit Teika! All she wants is you to accept her, 'cuz she feels like an outsider! And what do you do? You yell at her!" She glared at me while Silica kept sobbing.

"Silica-chan" I said quietly.

"Go away" she wailed.

"You heard her! Leave! We don't want to be around you right now! Aoki shouted.

I nodded, and headed downstairs. Once there, Agil looked at me sympathetically. "Hey man, if you want I can get a sleeping bag out and you can hit the hay here" he gestured to the ground behind the counter.

"Nah, thanks though" I said to him.

"Then where you gonna sleep, man?" He asked.

"Not going to" I answered. "I'm thinking of grinding."

"Well, ok. When you need to repair your ax, there is a npc shop on main and third street who has reasonable prices."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow." I said. I walked out of the shop without a backward glance, to go find something that would taste the iron of my ax.

After Silica stopped crying, Aoki let go of her. "Their there. The bastard is gone now" she said comfortingly.

"Sorry Aoki-chan. I was just sad that you two were fighting." Said the little blonde. "I thought he was mad at me too"

"Don't worry. It doesn't matter what that idiot thinks" said Aoki.

"I care" murmured Silica.

Then, a notification appeared on her HUD. She opened her menu to find she had a pm.

Sender: Teika.

Message: " I left some things for you outside the door.".

Aoki read through the message, and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Asked Silica.

"Just looking at something." She said.

After opening the door, she looked down. There was a closed wooden box. It was about one meter long, three quarters wide, and one half meter deep. She picked it up with a lot of effort. ' 'The hell is in here?' She thought. She brought it over to the bed, and placed it in front of Silica. "What is that?" Asked Silica.

"Something Teika left for us." Said Aoki.

She found the seam that separated the kid from the rest. After taking off the lid, the contents surprised her. Across the top was a one handed iron longsword, diagonal to fit in the box. Its handle guard was small, which made her think that it was made for quick yet hard attacks. The handle was wrapped in black leather. Her name was etched in the base of the blade neatly. She grabbed it and gawked. There was a note under it, engraved into a piece of wood. It said "I got the materials to make these from various fights. I got a npc to make the sword, and I bought the rest from the col I had left over. I wanted to give this to you tomorrow, but I think that I won't be back for a few days" she put the sword down, and looked at the rest.

There was a slightly curved knife, with 'Silica' engraved in it. The whole thing was white, and looked like a wicked fang. Under this we're two dresses, one scarlet red, and was pretty small. The other was bright pink. She raised the pink one, and held it against her body. It was just her size. Her first thought was 'wow. He is so nice' her second was 'how in hell did he get my size?'. Next, we're two pairs of chain mail shirts, meant to be worn under clothes. One was her size, and the other Silica's.

'Wow' thought Aoki. 'Clothes...armor….. weapons…. how much did he spend?'

Silica was raising the red dress. It had a short skirt on the bottom, and strapless top. She blushed slightly at the revealing dress. Aoki took out the piece of wood, and flipped it over. On that side was another note. "Sorry if the dresses are a little vulgar, it's all the npc had, and the best quality on the first floor. Guaranteed to last at least two months. Don't worry about me. Protect each other, and have a little fun."

I smiled as my ax cleaved right through another Dire Wolf. The rest of the pack was crouching a growling. I have taken out three of them, and six remained. One of them barked at me, and one of its comrades leapt. I smiled. 'Your friends tried that already, didn't work' I thought. I spun, holding the hatchet in my hand, and the blade bit deep into the side of the neck of the wolf. It died instantly. 'This will be my life for a few days' I thought.

"Kyyaaaaat!" I shouted, and ran at the wolves, preparing to kill another.


	11. Chapter 11-Institution

**this chapter is mostly a flashback, so be prepared for that.**

Nine long years ago.

I sat in front of a computer screen, a chessboard before me. I was playing as the White player, and the top co outer in the world as my opponent. This computer has never lost a game, even against the Chess Grandmaster in Britain. The artificial light was bleaching my skin, and I knew it, but since I haven't seen the Sun, I don't care. The only reason I know what the Sun even looks like is bacuase of google. As I stared at the chessboard, a white coated man sat behind me, watching my every move in the stark white room. Classical music playing faintly from a P.A. system on the ceiling.

I touched the screen, and the Pawn at E2, right in front of my King, lit up. I tapped two spaces in front of it, and the piece made the appropriate move. I heard the scratching of a pen on paper behind me as the Man took notes. I didn't know this Man, all I knew was that He was supposed to explain what I did. The computer moved the black pawn in front of its King to block mine, a standard move. I did calculations in my head. Chess is a skill based game, with the first player to move having a sixty six point seven percent chance of victory against an equally skilled foe. This computer was just a computer, and would always make the move that is best at this moment. Chess is a game of patience and foresight. Both of which I had.

I tapped the Kingside Bishop, moving it diagonal left-up three, from F1 to C4, three spaces in front of their Queenside Boshop's Pawn. Again, I heard the scratching of the Observer's writing.

The Queenside Black Knight moved towards me three, and to my right two, the basic move. It was now two spaces from the Bishop I moved. I tilted my head to the side in thought. I moved my Queen diagonally from its position at D1 to H5, two spaces from its Kingside Rook's Pawn. It's Queen's Pawn moved forward one space. I smiled. Victory. I moved my Bishop to the Kingside Bishop's Pawn. It's only move would have been to take the Bishop I had in place using the King, but my Queen protecting it. A King is not allowed to be put in danger, so, Checkmate. It was a standard four move win.

I heard the steel door that lead to my room slide open, and then shut with a loud bang and click. Once he left, I stood from the white plastic chair at the white steel desk, and walked to the white cot in the corner. I sat down, thoughts sifting through my head. "So, anything new?" Asked Nancy.

I looked up, and smiled at my friend. "You are a sight for sore eyes, Nancy" I said. "Nothing really. They made me play Chess again this one I beat in four moves instead of seven"

"He. Idiots" she said. She was my age, four, and had long blonde hair. She had fair skin like me. Her green eyes always had a way to help me pass the time behind them in her cunning mind. "They won't learn that you can conquer any computer, right?"

She sat beside me on the white cot.

"You understand me so well, my friend." I said.

"Yup!" She responded, raising her head in the air.

"So, what do you have planned for today?" I asked.

"How about-" she was cut off as the door opened again. I looked up to see another white coated man walk in, but I smiled at this man. It was Dr. Tanner, and he was always fun to be around.

"Hello Stephen, how are you today?" He asked, shutting the door, and sitting at the chair the other man sat at before.

"I am fine, thank you. How are you, Dr. Tanner?" I asked politely.

"You know to call me Josh!" He said with a short laugh. "Who were you talking to?" He asked.

"Nancy" I responded.

"And what did Nancy have to say?"

"Just that the Others never learn. I beat every test they send me, yet they keep sending me more. It is getting rather tedious" I sighed lightly.

He looked at the Touchscreen pc. "Four moves!" He said. "Impressive."

"Not really. I saw videos of others trying to take it on, and all of them used long, complex strategies. They all failed, so I used a short and simple one. Easy"

"So, what is on your mind?" He asked.

"Changing the subject from the Other's inadequatacy to my thoughts. Clever move" I said. He raised his eyebrows at this, having never heard this side of me. "I am thinking of Chess, and easier ways to win. Also, I am mentally practicing my Spanish, Japanese, and Hebrew. Finally, I am predicting this conversation. There is a forty nine point two percent chance of your next words being along the lines of 'Wow, that is a lot at once!'"

I saw a muscle twitch at his temple as he forced himself to remain smiling. "Well, that is a lot!" He gave a nervous laugh. I heard sounds of shouting outside. He stood up with an alarmed expression in his face. He pulled out a smartphone, and after tapping it a few times, held it to his ear. "Damnit, Reis! Pick up!" He said.

"There we go!" He seemed relieved. "What is going on out there?"

I heard the man named Reis answer. "Three people barged in. A PI, a man, and a woman. They are demanding Stephen, and they have a court order."

"And you let them in?" Demanded Dr. Tanner.

All of a sudden, the door swung open, and a tall gruff looking man stood there. He had a pistol in his hand. My eyes were fixated on the weapon, not in fear, but curiosity. He wore a suit and tie, black and red. He had a stubble of a beard on his face. His hair was the color of mine, dark brown.

"Stephen!" His voice boomed. He started walking forward.

got in between him and myself. "I am sorry, but I cannot let you take him."

I heard the docking of the hammer on the gun. "Step away, I don't want to have to use this thing" I heard the large man growl. "The likes of you will not stand between me and my son."

Dr. Tanner seemed to be at a loss for words. "I am sorry…"

I interrupted him. "If you continue blocking his way, there is an eighty four percent chance he will shoot you. And a seventy nine percent chance of it being fatal at that range. I recommend moving"

Dr. Tanner looked at me. "But what about all we have been through?" He asked.

"True, you are the only other real person I could speak to, but that made me very lonely, and gave me many opportunities to figure out a passive way to take out my frustrations on you". I walked around the Doctor calmly.

He sighed, lowering his arms. "I told them to give you a companion, but they wouldn't listen. I do care, and I do my best." He sighed. Dr. Tanner turned his eyes on the man with the gun. "Here, take this. Please inject it into his arm before taking him outside. He has been used to the relative darkness of the Facility, and the light could possibly damage his eyes and brain." He pulled out a syringe and a bottle. "Ten milligrams will me sufficient."

"And how do I know this is not poison?" Growled the large man.

I spoke up. "Dr. Tanner may work with the Others, but he is a honorable man. There is a less then four percent chance of that causing harm to me" I said. I stood by the large man. "I am Stephen, who are you?" I asked.

"I am your father." He said, placing his hand in my head.

After being injected, the world went black. The next thing I remember, was waking up, on top of a decent sized bed. I stood up and surfed the room. The walls were bare, and there was a desk with a chair in front of the window to my right. The floor was wooden, and the door ahead of me matched that style. I walked over to the door, and opened it. My legs were shaky, but that was probably the effect of the drug. I walked out the door, and saw a hallway in front of me. A staircase was to my left, and I heard voices coming from there. I put my hand on the banaster, and walking down the wooden stairs. Once at the bottom, I turned right in another corridor, following the voices.

I opened a door, and a kitchen lay before me, with high-tech looking appliances. A man, the man from earlier, and a woman were talking to each other in hushed but urgent voices. Once the door shut, they both looked at me.

"Welcome home" said the woman.

Nine years later, in the summer.

I sat at my desk, with my headphones on, hooked up to my phone. There was a guy on the other end of the line. If I changed his failing grades to passing, all eight of them, he would pay me one hundred sixty dollars. Twenty per grade, that is what I charge. Hacking into his high school grade book was easier than normal, like the security was down for maintenance or something. Perplexed, I sat and thought. After putting him on hold, I said, "Scas, search for third party viewers".

"Scanning… complete. You are the only one on this website right now" the program said in its female voice. "Anything else bossman?"

I scrunched my eyebrows. "No, thanks" I tapped on the keyboard, and changed his grades to various numbers, just above passing. Once that was done, I saved, and hit Alt-F4 to close the window. This was the ninth time I have done this, and my wallet was starting to like it. I took the client off hold. "I'm done. I want the other half today" I said.

"You'll get it. I'll be behind your school in half an hour" he hung up.

I checked the time. I still had another hour until school starts. 'Might as well' I thought. "Scas, I'm leaving. Go to my phone"

"Already done bossman" I heard in the headphones. 'I need to get rid of these things, maybe get a broken pair of earbuds'. I repaired this set of headphones from a set I found in the trash, for under half the cost of buying brand new ones. I walked out of the room, and down the stairs. I grabbed an apple to eat on my way to the School. I picked up the case holding my new Windows Surface my parents bought me recently.

The day I turned thirteen, my parents told me that a company had approached them, and was willing to pay a very large sum of money (millions of dollars) if they could have me right after I was borne. My mother never signed the forms stating that I was to be sent to them, but the company still took me right out of the hospital. The company, RECT inc., kidnapped me and kept me inside an institution where they trained my brain with puzzles that adults have trouble with. They were trying to figure out how the mind worked. The branch of RECT that was in charge of all this was shut down as soon as confronted, or so we have been told. I am not one who takes things at face value. Even google makes mistakes. As I was walking down the street, a girl matched my stride.

"Hello!" She said. "I'm Natsuki! I'm from Japan and will be staying here for a few weeks!"

I looked up at her. Her hair was a bright red, like from anime. Her eyes were blue, but it was easy to tell they were covered by contacts. "Konichiwa" I said in Japanese. "I Stephen. May I help you?"

She looked taken aback. "I don't know whether you are trying to be racist or funny" she said.

"I am trying to display my intellect, as to keep you from trying to catylize a conversation with someone who's IQ is much higher than yours" I faced forward.

"So, not gonna be friendly, huh?" She brushed a lock of red hair out of her eyes. "I'm a stubborn bitch, you'll crack like a sunflower seed at a baseball game!"

She was wearing very bright and vivid colors, a stark contrast to my dark ones. "I am much smarter than you. How could you hope to crack me?" I asked, genuinely I trigued at this girl's gall.

"Because! I'm a girl, and we girls always get our way!" She ran off ahead of me. 'That is not logical' I thought as she ran.

I made it behind the school without being harassed further. What lay before me was an open expanse of grass. I saw three teens leaning against the wall. I approached. I made out one of their figure's to be my client. "Do you have my money?" I asked.

He got off the wall. "About that…" he started, and then ran at me. His arm swung wildly, trying to catch the side of my face. I ducked quickly, and started backing away, but another was behind me. He shoved me forward just as the first was jabbing out. His fist caught my nose, and I went down, dazed.

"From now on, you are going to keep my grades passin', and I won't beat the shit out of you, capiche?" He leaned over me. 'This is not logical' I thought.

"Kyaaat!" I heard the aggressors looked up, and a foot caught one of them in the face, sending him sprawling. The others backed a few steps away. Natsuki landed on the ground nimbly. She reached a hand down to help me up. "Hey, looks like they got you pretty bad." She said.

"Hey! Who are you?" Demanded one of them, the leader. "You think you can just come here, and start attacking us?" He laughed. "Your about to get it girly!"

"Shut up, you ass wipe excuse for a thing I scraped off the bottom of my boot" she said. "If you think you can just start beating on my friend here, I will have to teach you some manners."

"Fine, if that's the way you wanna play!" He rushed at her, fists ready.

"He will start with a left hook. Followed by a right jab, and then if you go down, you will lose" I said quickly, anylizing his body.

She nodded. He swung, and she ducked. He looked surprised as she went under the arcing arm she shoved her fingers deep into his torso, right into the solar plexus. As he stumbled, she jumped, spinning in the air, and the heel of her foot caught the side of his face, knocking him out cold.

The other two looked at each other, and ran away.

I rubbed at my nose, and felt something wet and sticky. I pulled my hand away to see a crimson liquid. 'I'm bleeding' I thought. 'That is not normal'. I stayed calm despite the trauma I just went through.

"Damn! Your nose is leaking a lot Stephen-chan!" Said Natsuki.

She took a backpack off of her back, nad opened it, pulling out a small firstaid kit. She withdrew some tissue, and put it on my face. "Hold that" she commanded. I did as she said, and she got some more. She took my hand off my face, and stuffed the tissue up my nostrils. After that, Natsuki took some wet wipes out, and cleaned the blood off my face. "There, better!"

"Why are you doing this? It isn't logical" I said, my voice distorted form the clogged nostrils.

"Yes, it is very logical, you just have to think differently" she said. "I want to be your friend"

"Friend?" That word wasn't foreign to me, I knew it's definition, but I had never heard someone want to be my friend. "Why?"

"Because. You look like a good person" she commented. "C'mon, were going to be late!" She grabbed my arm, and dragged me to the front of the school.

Friend.

I sat in front of a tree in Aincrad. I was sharpening the edge of a wooden tomahawk I just crafted from branches of the tree I was sitting against. Its durability was terrible, a low 65, but its base damage was pretty nice. I had some StP on Dexterity, so my throwing accuracy was pretty nice. I was spot on at a max range of five meters, and I hit at seventy five percent accuracy until fifteen meters, where I had a near zero chance. That, combined with my Str, made grinding Dire Wolfs easy. I heard a howl nearby. I stopped sliding the knife over the edge of the small hatchet. I had two of them now. I stood, and tied this one to my left leg. It's brother was on my right, hanging down. With a simple tug, I could pull the axes free from their restraints, and be ready to throw one of them.

I crouched, and went to a clearing nearby in the forest, where I have been killing wolves for the past few days. I peeked over the bush, and the sight startled me. I saw the two people I have avoided for the past two weeks. There were Dire Wolf surrounding them. I sighed inwardly. I held my close quarters ax in my left hand, and the to ohawk in the right, prepared to throw.


	12. Chapter 12-Disrubance in the Force

**Yes, another flashback. I plan on doing two storylines at once... the SAO one, and pre-SAO when Stephen ad Natsuki meet. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts, and thanks to thunderwolf7226 for proofreading!**

The next morning, Teiko didn't come back. Aoki stood up, getting out of the bed groggily, looking for her friend. She searched the room, and then remembered the previous day. 'Oh…. yeah' she thought. Aoki heard Silica moving in the bed, probably waking. "Hey, sleepyhead!" She said to the blonde girl. Silica rubbed her eyes, yawning. "Ready for the day ahead?"

"Where's Teika-kun?" She asked. She stood up, and started equipping her armor and clothes.

"He didn't come back yet" said Aoki. She was a little surprised to hear her voice sound so melancholy. "But I am sure he will soon!"

"I hope he does. I really like him"

* * *

Behind the school, after she totally annihilated that bully guy, she grabbed Stephen's hand. "C'mon! We're gonna be late!" She all but dragged him up to the front of the giant building. Once through the massive glass doors, she ran to the nearest elevator. The building had many circular floors on top of each other, with a balcony allowing a view of the lower floors. She had been assigned to his class, and to follow him to see what a 'regular high school student' did in America. So far, she was loving it.

After claiming an elevator, she tapped her foot impatiently while it ascended slowly, the cheesy music playing on the speaker over her head. After sweeping a bright red lock of hair out of eyes, the door opened on the fourth floor. She grabbed Stephen's hand, and dragged him towards their classroom. "Why are you dragging me?" He asked.

"Because we are about to be late!" She responded.

"Are you in my class?" He seemed to be calculating the odds of this.

"Yes! Now hurry up!"

"I can't when you keep pulling me off balance!" He grunted.

There were wooden doors on either side of the hall they were traversing, each marked with a three digit number that started with four. After finding four-twelve, she threw open the doors, and pushed her companion inside just as the bell rang. "Yes!" She cried in triumph.

The class was like an auditorium, with black chairs, and black cushions. There were six sections, three large ones at the front, and three smaller ones at the back. There were at least five hundred chairs, and only fifty people here, taking up the ones in the back. Stephen started making his way to a chair in the middle front section, somewhere near the center, with Natsuki close behund. There was a man on a stage at the front. He had jeans, and a t shirt. His chin was darkened slightly with the beginnings of a beard, and a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Because the distance from him to the back of the room was pretty far, there was a large screen on the wall above the stage, with his face on it. There was obviously a camera trained on him from somewhere.

"Hello class! I am Doctor Michael Everett, but you can call me Michael." He walked from one side to the other on the black painted wooden stage. The lights dimmed where we were, so we could see him better. "Welcome to my class! Here, I will be teaching you everything you need to know to pass! And then some. Every day, we will start off with either a coding or engineering problem, which will be sent to your tablets via the wifi connection. Since these tablets are dished out by the school, we have complete access and control over them! So no porn or anything like that!"

His blue eyes held a humor that only came with youth. "So, without further ado, please take out your Windows Surfaces, and go to the application on there called 'Coding one oh one'."

Natsuki looked furiously through we bookbag, to no avail. "Damnit!" She said quietly.

Stephen sighed beside her. He reached into his carrying case, and brought out a second. He tapped the screen, unlocked it with a password, and opened the application.

"It's not the top of the line model, but it will serve its purpose" he whispered, handing it to her.

She took it gratefully. "Thanks" there was a segment of code on there, written in the Java coding language. She squinted, reading it, and struggling to understand it.

"Now then, who can tell me what will happen if I try and run this code" asked the instructor.

Stephen stood up after only a glance at the code. "Line twenty two is written incorrectly. It will cause exactly thirteen errors because it declares an item used later. Since the line isn't correct, the item isn't declared, so the other twelve lines that use that item cannot function." He sat down.

"Bravo…." he paused, and looked at his phone. "Stephen! Bravo! At least we know that you learned something last year!" He gave a slight chuckle. "When did you learn how to calculate errors?"

The kid beside Natsuki stood up. "When I was seven" and then he sat back down.

"Excuse me?" Asked the professor.

"I learned how to write complex code when I was seven, and I wrote my own AI program at the age of eight." He explained.

"Well, then! I will tell you what, if you can write me a code that will teach one lesson out of last years lesson plan, and I will let you off for the semester! How does that sound?" Michael seemed to think this was impossible.

Stephen brandished his Surface with a practiced motion, and acted typing.

"The rest of you, I really didn't have much planned today, so, free day!" He exclaimed. The lights above us turned on, illuminating the room a dimmed yellow. Stephen typed away furiously in his tablet, as though his life depended on it. "Anything I can do?" Asked Natsuki.

"Don't break my concentration" he answered bluntly.

'Damn he can be so annoying!' She thought crossing her arms.

Throughout the rest of the day, he was answering every teacher's questions in every subject. It thoroughly angered some of the instructors that a kid new more about their subject than they did.

The next day, he presented his code to Michael, whose jaw dropped to the floor in surprise. Needless to say, Stephen never showed up to that class.

* * *

Shaking her head from the memory, Aoki returned to the moment.

"What will we do?" Asked Silica.

Aoki smiled. "We will go and fight! We will level up! Speaking of which, what level are you?"

Silica checked her HUD. "Almost level twelve. You?"

Aoki looked at hers. "Holy shit!" She exclaimed. Silica rushed to her side, and looked over her shoulder.

"How…. how did you get to forty two?" She exclaimed, jumping away.

Both girls exchanged looks. "Maybe when I fought The Fatal Scythe?" She voiced tentatively.

"Well, now I know you are super strong!" Said Silica.

"You're not going to run away?" Asked Aoki.

"Why would I? I'm much safer with you! I just wonder when Teika-kun will come back…" she became thoughtful.

"Knowing him, he is probably getting stronger now" she thought out loud.

"Why would he do that?" Asked Silica, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh sorry, I meant to think that, not say it." She said hastily. "He probably knows I am being hunted right now, and figured out that I will have better odds surviving if he gets stronger too"

"Well then! I will get stronger! To protect you and Teika-kun!" She pumped her fist in the air. "Starting now!" She hopped up, and quipped all of her items. "Let's go!"

Aoki smiled. "Ok" she too, brought out her new armor, clothes, and blade. She looked at the metal weapon. 'I will fight. For Stephen.'

* * *

"How did you get my phone number?" Asked Stephen one afternoon after school.

"I have friends ya'know!" Exclaimed Natsuki. "You just weren't at school today… or the whole week, so I was wondering where you were! Damn, I try and be nice, but you are always a solid wall!"

She heard a sigh on the other end of the SmartPhone. "I already know what the teachers are supposed to be teaching. I learned it all last week online"

She was laying down on her bed, looking at the ceiling while talking. "Well, how did you know what to learn?" Demanded Natsuki.

"I can probably hack into companies who are paid a lot of money to create firewalls and safeguards against that. Getting the lesson plans was a cakewalk."

"Well….. if you are so smart…" she shut her mouth, trying to voice the next words, but pride wasn't letting her.

"Yes?" She heard the same bland tone.

"Damnit! Won't you come to school and help me out! I am getting my ass kicked by these classes!" She shut her eyes, hoping her real agenda wasn't obvious.

Another static filled sigh. "Fine. I will be there tomorrow." She heard the click of him hanging up.

She brought the phone to her chest, breathing heavily. She felt her face heat up quickly, with two emotions dominant: anger at him hanging up, and glee that she was going to see her new best (and only) friend. Even in Japan, people resented her. She was outgoing, and bold, which in her society were not desireable traits. Many people described her as "American-like", with hateful tones, and equally emotioned glances.

The next day, she was fully dressed, and was waiting for him to come out. Since this school was year round (with holidays off), many lessons were put into their heads within the time allotted. He absorbed everything like an endless sponge, while she already felt full to the brim. She stood outside his house, in a bright summer dress. It was white with flawless all along it. The spaghetti straps, and short skirt made it a very 'sexy' dress, while still retaining some modesty.

The door to his house opened, and out came the kid. 'He looks pretty young for a sophomore' she thought. "Hello!" She called out.

"Konichiwa." He responded, and continued in the oriental language. "How are you today?"

"Fine, yourself?" She asked politely.

"Grumpy that I promised to get up. I had Scas yelling at me to get up for ten minutes." He rubbed his eyes. He was in a dark red shirt, with black pants and jacket.

"Who is Scas?" She asked.

"Oh, that's the AI I created." He looked up. "It stands for System Controlling Authoritative Software." He started walking down the sidewalk.

'Damn, he wrote his own AI program? Who in hell is this kid?' "When did you finish it?" She asked.

"Oh, about a month ago. After day one I had a lot of bugs to work out, but after that, it worked like a charm" he continued walking.

Natsuki caught up. She saw something in his ears. "Did you get military earwigs?"

"Yeah, old editions from about twelve years ago. Rewired them, and changed the insides. Now they run off a lithium ion battery, with ten hours average runtime, and a Bluetooth range of ten meters. The speakers were changed inside, so now the sound is high-def. almost as good as a two hundred dollar pair off eBay."

She raised her eyebrows. 'He keeps getting smarter and smarter'. She thought.

At lunch, he was working on a blueprint for a pair of headphones he said he wanted. While working, a girl came up. She had a lithe figure. She was tall for a girl, and had long bright blonde hair. Her eyes were bright sea green, and had a light of embarrassment about them.

"Ah-hem" she coughed lightly. Stephen looked up.

"N-N-Nancy?" He seemed mortified.

"No, sorry. I'm Bella." Her eyes dropped to the floor. She had her hands clasped behind her little green dress. "Ummmm…. here!" She shoved an envelope in front of Stephen, and then ran off.

Natsuki followed Bella with her eyes. The blonde ran back to a table with a lot of girls at it. She breathed a heavy sigh, and some of the girls nudged her ribs with an elbow, and wiggled her black eyebrows. The blonde blushed, and scooted away, looking horrified at her friend. Natsuki sighed. 'Well, that happened.'

Stephen opened the envelope. "Hmmm. I was not expecting this. Here" he handed it over to Natsuki.

"I think you are a very cute, smart and funny guy. I would like to hang out with you this coming Saturday at two pm at the mall. There is a movie I think you will like. Signed: yours, Bella" read Natsuki aloud. "Hmmm! You have a lady friend!"

Stephen didn't react at all. "I have no time for intimate relationships. I will have to decline her" he stood up, and walked over to the table the girls were at. After delivering his news, the blonde looked crestfallen, but she nodded. They exchanged a few words, and then he came back over to the table with Natsuki.

"Sooooo" she prompted.

"Bella wants to reschedule. I told her I do not want a relationship, and that I was sorry. She should find someone who better matches her wishes." He answered, and bit down on a hamburger.

'Wow, he actually did that tactfully. Maybe he is aware of other's emotions' thought Natsuki.

"By the way, on that assignment for Michael, you did it all wrong. I am surprised you even know what code is with that kind of job." He went on to explain what was wrong with her attempt.

'Or maybe not'.

* * *

Aoki and Silica thought that they had had enough. After two weeks, their friend did not reappear, so they went hunting. They got a tip from a player that he was last seen going into a forest not to far from Horunka.

'That no good son-of-a-bitch' thought Natsuki. 'He ditched us! What the hell for?' She went on thinking about how Teika was a no life scumbag for leaving Silica and herself behind. All of a sudden, she bumped into Silica.

"Yo! Why d'ya stop?" Asked Aoki. The pink haired girl raised her head, and saw three Dire Wolfs in front of them. She grinned. 'Target practice' she thought. Then, there was snarling from behind. She turned her head to see another five behind. There was a howl not to far off, stating that more were coming. 'Oh shit'.

One lept into the air, trying to pounce on Silica. Right before it made contact, a blur caught it in mid air, and slammed it against a tree. The wolf explodes, leaving behind a wooden tomahawk. She traced its trajectory through the air, and found Teika standing at one edge of the clearing. He was wearing a brown and green cloak, pants, boots, and shirt. He had another to tomahawk in hand. "Who's next?" He asked. The wolves snarled. One howled, and the rest started backing away from Teika.

They all turned tail, and ran away. After the clearing was deserted, Aoki marched over to the fallen ax, and threw it at Teika's head.

 **Of you like/don't like/just plain hate me, send a review/pm,your voices are heard!**


	13. Chapter 13-Warnings and Payback

**Thanks to everyone for their thoughts!**

 **Before I get a lot of hate mail about Aoki being too powerful, all will be explained ina few chapters**

"You look nice today, Natsuki" said Stephen, surprising his new friend. It was the fifth week of school, and Stephen had managed to get out of doing any work for any of his classes…. Except math. The math teacher had a vendetta against him for being so smart. When he completed the test, and made a perfect score (and nobody was supposed to pass), the professor slapped a sheet of paper in front of Stephen, with a few math problems. The instructor then said that these were from his college exam, and he got them wrong. After Stephen answered the questions correctly, the whole class got double homework for a week. Needless to say, the whole class hates him.

They were walking together towards the building where they studied. "Wow, ummm, thanks" she felt a slight blush form on her cheeks at his words. 'He… he thinks I look nice' she thought. Shaking her head, she cleared her mind. "So I didn't look nice yesterday?" She questioned, testing him.

He didn't crack. Shrugging his shoulders, he said "I just think you look better today and I was voicing it. Sorry for trying to be polite" he sped up slightly.

'Well, that backfired' thought Natsuki. She hurried to catch up.

* * *

" 'The hell, Aoki!" I shouted as the ax thudded into the wood, inches from my face. She had a look on her face that seemed to be very descriptive of where I can shove the tomahawk. Silica was cowering slightly behind her.

"You ditched us!" She yelled. Aoki started stomping towards me menacingly. I backed away from her, half of my brain fully aware that she was a much higher level than I was. Much much higher. The other half was just terrified that an ax narrowly missed my face. "You peace of shit! Why did you leave us like that? Huh? This better be good!" Her face was centimeters from mine, and I felt her hot, rushed breath against my lips.

'Just stick to the truth' I thought. "I knew that you became the strongest of us-"

"And you couldn't bare to be second best to me?" She demanded, getting slightly closer. Her eyes gleamed with danger.

"No" I breathed. "I felt that Mage versus Mage fights are not going to be won by feats of magic, but by the cunning of the non-endowed. So I thought that if I get stronger, then I can protect you against this damned game, and the people going to take advantage of it. I cannot lose you. You were my first friend, and still are my best one." Her face softened for a second. I took my chance, and wrapped my arms around her, bringing her into a hug. "I am sorry. I won't leave again."

Her arms embraced me, pulling me from the tree she backed me against a moment before. "You are so damned chivalrous." She whispered. She sighed contentedly. After a moment, I let go, and she backed away.

Silica was over to one side, shifting from one foot to another, studying the dirt. Her face was beet red at watching the intimate moment between us.

I smiled at her. "Yo, I haven't forgot about you!" I ran up to her.

Silica's face looked up at me, and her eyes widened. "No Teika-kun! Don't!" But I wrapped her into my arms also, picking her up off the ground. She squealed as I spun around, her feet dangling in the air. "Put me down! Put me down!" Laughing, I obliged.

She outed, turning her head away. I giggled again, and petted her hair. Her face blushed slightly at this, and she didn't back away this time. "Hrmph. Bad Teika-kun" she muttered.

I took my hand off her head. "Fine then! I won't pet you!" She turned to look at me, with die eyes.

"Wwwhhhhaaaattt? Sorry!" She bowed deeply. I laughed again, and hugged her., bringing her out of the bow.

"Hey, I'm from America. No need to bow to me! I understand it is your form of pretty much everything, but please don't! I feel very uncomfortable!" I explained.

"Ah hem" I heard behind me. Quickly, I drew a tomahawk, and spun, putting Silica behind me. I saw a small figure sitting on a tree limb. She was wearing a mottled green cloak that out mine to shame. Her hair was obscured by the hood of the cloak. She wasn't much taller than me, but she gave the impression of being older, yet more childlike.

"Who are you" I demanded, ready to throw the ax. Aoki rushed beside me, and drew her longsword.

"I am known as Argo the Rat. I'm an info broker." She stated clearly in a singsong voice.

"Fine then. What are you here for?" I asked, crouching lower.

"You were entertaining, especially when the pink haired chick was going to give you a totally…. splitting headache!" She started laughing at the horrid joke. "That was good!" She sighed. "And I have a few tidbits I think everyone should really know now asap, so, I'm selling cheap. Gimme five hundred col, and you will get something nice and juicy."

"Don't listen to her! She is just after our money" growled Aoki. She grabbed the longsword in both hands.

I withdrew the coins. "Fine" I threw them right below her. "Half now, half after"

"Seems fair" she said. After hopping down, counting the bag of coins, and putting them in her inventory, she continued. "We cannot make official guilds until floor three, it two groups have emerged, as unofficial guilds. The Aincrad Liberation Squad, whose main task is to recruit players to join them. They are nicknamed The Army. The other group, is the Holy Dragon Alliance. They are despicable people, and all they are after is power. They are pretty much entirely comprised of Beta-haters, and seem to have converted to a sort of religion, where the Mages are the spawn of a devil. So, my other two-fifty?"

When she stopped talking, I blinked rapidly in surprise. "Damnit. Just as I thought." I said out loud.

I threw another bag at her. She caught it deftly. "Pleasure doing business with you" she seemed to melt into the trees.

"What do you mean that you predicted this?" Asked Aoki, turning towards me. "There is a whole frigging guild who wants my head on a pole!"

"The second Kayaba said that a select few get magic, I knew instantly there would be fighting over this…. I didn't think it would start for another few floors….." I became deep in thought. I quickly came to a conclusion. "But that doesn't matter. I just need to get stronger. To protect you" I turned, and started walking towards the Town of Beginnings.

"Where are you going?" Asked Silica.

"I need a smith, my ax is pretty beat up." I called back. "You coming?"

I heard the scampering of feet, and the little blonde appeared beside me. "Aoki-chan" I said. "C'mon"

I heard a sigh, and she ran to my other side. "Damn you and your chivalry."

* * *

In the lunchroom, Natsuki and I were eating alone… just like normal. I haven't heard anything from that Bella girl for a month now. I had forgotten that she wanted to hang out. I bit into my ham sandwich, thinking about the lesson plan next month. I already knew everything for this month, and was taking a break from learning. Even I need the occasional time off.

"Earth to Stephen, earth to Stephen, this is Houston, over" said Natsuki with her hand over her mouth, feigning static.

I shook my head. "Yes?" I asked her.

"Well, we have tomorrow off from school… so how about we go catch a movie?" She seemed to genuinely want this.

"Hmm. Fine with me." I took another bite. "What'ya thinking about seeing?"

"Oh, whatever is available." She winkined. "Around one pm ok?"

I thought about it. 'I should be able to get my daily fitness regimen done before then… and a shower taken.' "Sure".

"You don't seem that enthusiastic." She said, scrunching her eyebrows…

Again, I countered. "Imagine… your only friend has just invited you to hang out, instead of being a total idiot, and making her feel bad by seeming overly enthusiastic, and obviously being fake, you act as though it is no big deal. To be honest, I do not care whether we go to the movies or not, it will not affect me"

"Baka" she said, getting up, dumping her tray in a dumpster, and walking away.

'Girls'.

* * *

I found the only human blacksmith available. This brown haired girl named Lisbeth. She operated a cart near the center of town, with a Merchant's Carpet and anvil. She had a hammer in her hand, resting on her shoulder. "Welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop! How may I help you?"

I slapped my hammer down on the table. "One of two things, and i will not pay any price you name. I will pay based on quality. If you make good stuff, I will pay a large amount. I want to know whether you can make a better ax than this. If you can, please do so. If not, please repair this one"

Her expression flickered for a moment, from the cheerful face, to a disgusted face at my attitude.

I explained my actions. "I am sorry if I am coming off as rude, I just don't want anyone pretending to be a smith, and giving me terrible weaponry."

She nodded. "I can understand that." She inspected the ax carefully, looking at it from all angles. "I think I can make one better… here, come back in an hour, and I will have it done"

I nodded. "How much will it cost?"

"I think about three thousand…." she flinched. "Sorry for the price, it's just going to be a really good weapon. It will last you until floor four. The Lisbeth Quality Guarantee!"

I nodded, and gave her fifteen thousand now. "Rest later" I said. She nodded.

"Fair enough". She said. "Any specific material you want it made out of?"

I opened my inventory, and flipped it around for her to look through. "Pick something."

"Ooh, this looks interesting"she pulled out an item called Mysterious Cave Rock. "Where'd you get this?"

"Well, from a cave. Just got angry at the lack of mobs, and slammed my ax against the wall, and the chunk fell off the wall." I explained.

"Hmmm…. would you be willing to tell me where this cave is?" She asked, squinting her eyes.

I smiled. "And give away the scourge of an item that you are acting like is better than iron… sure. You seem nice." I gave her the rout to the mountains up north. And the exact location of the cave I explored.

"Hmm. Thanks" she said. "For that, I'll knock a thousand off the price"

"No, I will pay based on quality." I said.

"Hrmph. You are a tough nut. Ok, come back in an hour".

* * *

Walking home together felt soothing. For some reason, Natsuki changed me. I felt more emotions because of her than before, I was more sympathetic…. but I was in denial. I was right in front of her house, when I heard a noise from the alley behind her house. It sounded like a scream. We looked at each other, and nodded.

Together, we ran behind her house, both of us able to walk almost silently, even on grass.

Once behind her house, the sight the maze of fences made me stop, trying to figure out where the scream came from. I heard a whimper to my left, and some hushed voices. I took point, and ran to a nearby house's back. Once there, I peeked around the fence into the driveway. I saw four really big boys standing above one much smaller.

"Are you ever going to disobey us again?" One of the behemoths grunted.

"No! I won't!" Murmured the kid.

"I don't believe him. How about we show him what we do to troublemakers?"

I turned away. Natsuki was ready to jump in, but I shook my head. I doubt she could Chuck Noris these guys.

I pulled out my phone, and started typing on screen:

"Yo, Scas. I cannot speak, so I am going to give you commands this way. Turn on a police siren sound on my phone, but make it sound like it's a little ways away."

I saw text appear under mine: "On it bossman"

All of a dissenting, I heard the wail of a police siren come from the device in my hands. I heard one of the bullies say "c'mon! The cops are coming!" And I heard them leave. After I shut off the sound, I walked into view. The brunette kid was on the round with a broken and bloody nose. "Natsuki, please treat his injuries." I said.

The Japanese girl ran to him, bringing out the first aid kit.

I continued speaking. "If you can talk, tell me their names." One of my fists was balled up, nails digging into my skin.

"No, they will hurt me more" he whimpered. His face had been cleaned up, and I saw the beautiful shiner that was starting to form.

I smiled maliciously. "I am capable of making their lives hell for the rest of their lives. Just give me names, and I will give you vengeance. It will not affect them forever, just for a month or two".

He gave me the names.

Inside Natsuki's room, I was typing on her new computer. "What are you going to do?" She asked.

"You know every school has a strict policy against you using their computers for certain things?"

"Yeah…"

"I am thinking of putting some porn on their browser histories, and hacking their personal bank accounts and donating a generous sum to various charities. If I think of something else, I will do it."

"So you care about that kid?"

"No, I just cannot stand bullies"


	14. Chapter 14-Holy Dragon Alliance

**Thanks to all my reviewers and to Thinderwolf7226!**

'Holy shit' I thought, looking at the ax Lisbeth made. It was a meter long, and had two heads, great for swinging forehand and backhand. The shaft was black, and the blade the same color. 'Couldn't be a little brighter?'. I picked it up with both hands, after nearly dropping it with one. It was much heavier than my old one. I checked the stats and raised my eyebrows. Everything was at least triple the stats of the starting sword's, and much higher than that as I got from Agil. "Well, now I know for certain I am seeing you for all of my weapon needs" I said, stunned.

"Really?" She seemed surprised at that. "You like it?"

"Girl" I said putting the ax down, and my hands on my hips. "I don't like it, I love it!" I took out the remaining fifteen hundred, and threw an extra thousand in there, giving her the bag.

"I can't except this!" She exclaimed. "It's too much!"

"I told you I am paying based on quality. Take it. Just promise you keep that smile on. Everyone needs to see someone smiling in this hellhole" I took the ax, and equipped it. I winced at the movement penalty it brought. 'Well, just going to have to work on that strength stat'. I thought.

"Yo. I'm Teika" I said.

"Hello Teika-san, my friends call me Lis." Answered the smith.

"Well. Liz-san. Thanks for the weapon." I looked at my two friends. "Just so you know, the sword you are using." I was facing Aoki. "is from her."

"Wow, seriously?" Aoki seemed genuinely surprised.

"What? You think something that good came from a npc?" I demanded.

"You're flattering me!" Laughed Lis.

I turned to her. "That's kind of the point." She giggled a little. "Just one more thing. Do you know where I can find decent mobs to fight?"

She thought for a moment. "Other than the labyrinth, nope. Sorry."

"Nah. You just told me where I can do some serious grinding." I smiled.

"You sure you don't want to stock up on decent tomahawks? Asked Aoki.

"Oh yeah! Can you make throwing weapons? Like a throwing ax of some sort?" I asked Lis.

"Yup. I even have a couple here, waiting for an owner." She pulled three out of her inventory. They looked exactly like mine, except these had metal heads.

"Good. I will take them all" I said, pulling out more money.

"How much col do you have?" Demanded Aoki.

"A lot. I did grind for a few days straight!" I defended myself. Back to Lis, I said, "Fifteen ok?"

"If you mean one thousand five hundred, yeah." She gave me a sly look.

"Man! The customer service here is good enough to make me want to spend my whole fortune!" I laughed. "You want anything?" I asked behind me.

"Ooh! Something I can throw!" Squealed the little blonde.

I looked back at Lis. "You heard her. Knives? Shuriken?"

"Well, I'm sold out of knives, but shuriken I can do!" She pulled a belt out of her inventory, lined with the gleaming stars.

"Excuse me" I heard a gruff voice. We all looked at the owner. Standing a few meters away, were three people dressed in heavy armor, and heavy longswords. The overall impression was of knighthood. "I don't see a name above your head. What is your name?"

Even through the slotted helmet, it seemed like he was facing Aoki. I took a step in front of her. "What's it to you?" My mind was racing. 'Has what I feared already come?'

"Tell us, now!" He demanded. His hand gripped the hilt of his longsword.

I crouched slightly. Before either of us moved, Lis spoke. "Not in front of my vending space! Move elsewhere, you testosterone junkies!"

"Quiet! Now!" Commanded the knight. The two people behind him in matching armor and weapons drew their swords.

"My name is Aoki!" Said my friend. "There! Are you happy?!"

"Get away! Now!" I looked to the right, and saw Lis, with a mace in hand.

I bowed deeply. "I'm sorry." I took the shuriken, and gave her the money. I then turned and started walking.

"Do not turn away from the Holy Dragon Alliance!" I heard. I kept going. 'Damned bullies' I thought.

Silica and Aoki appeared by my sides. "Where are we going?" Asked Silica.

"The labyrinth." I answered curtly.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked, her eyes opened wide.

"No" I sighed. "I just can't stand bullies"

"Hey! Get your fucking hands off me!" I whipped around, and saw one of the knights restraining Aoki. She was struggling to try and get him off her.

"Let go of her now" I growled, raising a tomahawk that was strapped to my leg.

"Or what?" Asked a knight.

There was now a ring of people forming around us, watching the confrontation.

I opened my menu, searching for the Duel System. Once I found it, I said. "What is your name?"

"Riko" he said. "What, are you going to challenge me?" He laughed.

"Yes" I said. I sent the request.

I had set it to Half Life. He hit the accept button. A countdown timer set to sixty started up.

I retied the strap holding the tomahawk, and got out the one handed as I didn't get from Lis. I crouched with the large hatchet, siting for the timer to hit zero. "Silica-chan, please get ready to grab Aoki-chan and run."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because, I am about to beat this guy, and his friends are not going to let her go." I explained. My mind went into overdrive, my senses sharpening, preparing for the fight ahead.

5

4

3

2

1

Neither of us moved, we just stared at each other. 'Hmm. He knows that the counter attack matters more….' I thought. 'Fine'. I knew my ability would be higher, so I had to use that and a heavy weapon that could bash through his armor. I quickly placed my hatchet in my inventory, and withdrew the battle ax. Holding it with both hands, I was ready.

"Switching weapons?" He asked. "Not confident?" He gave a scoffing laugh.

"Nah. Just want to guarantee a victory, so I'm switching to your weakness." I smiled.

"And that is?" He asked.

"Easy. A speed type with a big ax." I prepared to run. "Last chance before I annihilate you."

"Big words for a small punk. Come at me!" He roared.

"Kyyyyaaaaaaat!" I screamed as I ran forward. He raised his sword and I my ax using a downwards attack. The Smashing Ground skill I used made the ax head glow red. When it connected with the sword the impact jarred my hands, sending the shock up my arm. His sword was glowing with a defensive skill, but it snapped clean off with my strike. He managed to keep from taking the main hit from the attack.

He backed away. "That was my favorite sword! Now you will pay!" He flicked through his inventory. Before he returned his attention to me, I did a dirty move. I threw a tomahawk at him. The blade embedded itself into his face, causing an immediate victory.

* * *

"You have become soft" whispered a voice by my ear. I turned from my computer screen to see Nancy kneeling beside me. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders. She had on skin tight jeans, and a nice green tshirt. I was glad to see my old friend.

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled.

"That girl, Natsuki, has made you soft. You used to not care what others thought of you, now you do. You were soooo smart, but now, it seems like you don't care" she looked at my screen, where I was creating my own anti-virus system. "Line two-forty two is wrong." She commented.

After fixing the offending line, I spoke. "What is wrong with caring for others? And I already know I am smarter than anyone I have met, I don't need them to prove it."

"But when you didn't care, you were better off" she pouted.

"What do you mean? I have always cared about what you think!" I was puzzled.

"But we both know the reason for that!" She sighed. "You should just stop. She is bad for you"

"But she makes me happy. We are friends."

"What makes you two friends?" She asked. "You do her work, and she protects you from bullies. What makes you friends?"

"Easy it's…" I paused, not finding a reason.

"Exactly!" She exclaimed.

"Stephen! Dinner!" I heard from downstairs.

Nancy looked at the door, and then back to me. "Just think about what I have said."

The next day, I sat at a computer, helping a struggling Natsuki with coding an animation. She was getting the basics, but some of her syntax was off.

"Ugh! I give up!" She said, pushing the laptop away from her. "I don't understand how you do this!"

I smiled. "I'm just good at logic, and computers run on logic. Either on, or off. One, or zero. Yes or no."

"And I don't get it at all!" She said exasperated. "Hey, you have been rather quiet today…. what's up?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You look like you are having a mental debate on whether to say something." She said.

"Oh…." I turned away.

"What is it." She turned in her chair, to face me. "You know I will get it from you eventually, so it's better to just tell me and get it over with".

I sighed. "What makes us friends?" I asked.

"Huh?" She asked at the unexpected question.

"I mean, all I do for you is help you with work, and all you do for me is ward off the imbeciles who think they can beat me up." I said hurriedly, not used to showing my inner feelings.

"Dumbass." She muttered. "Do you like being around me?"

"Yes, I do" I said. "But-"

"There is no but about it. If you like being around me, and I like being around you, we are friends." She gave me a look that made that final. "Why do you want to know?"

"Umm, no reason." I said, looking back at the computer.

"You were questioning our friendship." She stated.

"Not me…."

"Then who?" She demanded.

"I don't want to tell you… you would laugh." I said, averting my eyes to the ground.

"You are an idiot" she said. "Of course I would laugh! That's what friends are supposed to do! Make other friends smile! It's my job to make fun of you, so you smile!"

I looked up. "I… I just can't tell you yet."

"Then, I respect that." She put a hand on my shoulder. "So, anything else so I can continue not doing my work?"

* * *

We took shelter inside a tavern nearby. After the fight, I managed to grab a hold of Aoki's hand, and pull her from her captor. I quickly bought an inn, leaving my savings very meager indeed. I pulled the drab curtains apart, and peeked. I saw some more of the knighted people running about, looking for her. I turned back to my friends in the cramped room.

"Seems like we are safe for now." I said.

"What will we do?" Asked Silica, a steel in her eyes that did not befit her age.

"Once night falls, we make for the forest. Then, we go to the labyrinth." I said.

"Why the labyrinth?" Asked Silica, while Aoki kept watch at the window.

"It will be dangerous for them to follow us there, and while they try, we can be leveling up." I turned to Aoki. She looked at me with scared eyes.

"What happens if they catch up, and get me?" She asked.

I walked over to her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I won't let that happen. Ever."

* * *

'My my' thought Tohaku. 'They are really over complicating things.' He sat on a roof in the Starting Town. He saw the person known as Teika threw his ax, defeating his opponent. After he grabbed the girl whose name he heard was Aoki, and the little girl who wielded a knife still unknown to Tohaku, they ran into a maze of alleys. He saw some of the HDA knights were about to follow. 'Well, I cannot have that' he thought. He lept off the building, landing right in front of the knights. They backed away quickly.

"Who are you, punk?" One said, drawing a longsword.

Tohaku smiled. He bowed deeply, going parallel with the ground. "I am known as Tohaku" he said humbly.

"Get out of our way! Now!"" Commanded one of them. There were four of them, each with gleaming armor and swords. "We are trained soldiers of the Holy Dragon Alliance, so you better do as we say!"

Four of the current strongest players in the game versus a scrawny blonde kid whose Str stat was lower than the stereotypical newborn. You had to feel sorry for the knights.

"Why should I do that?" Tohaku asked coldly, swiping some nearly white hair out of his eyes, the golden strands brighter than the sun. His eyes seemed to pierce right through people's soul, and freeze it to ice.

"Because, you little bitch! I said so!" The knight took a menacing step forward, but the fourteen year old Tohaku was not impressed. He kept on the same bored, yet leering smile.

"But they are long gone by now! Probably halfway to the Labyrinth!" He let out a short laugh.

"Damn you kid! Now you'll pay!" He opened his menu, and sent Tohaku a Duel Request.

He seemed a little surprised at the request, but kept his composure. "Fine, but, I will pick the place."

"Where?" Demanded the iron clad warrior.

"Easy" Tohaku turned, and walked a ways into the alley. He then turned around. "Here."

The knights looked at each other, and shrugged. They all entered.

As soon as they were about ten meters from the exit, Tohaku smiled. 'They fell into my trap.'

He accepted the duel, and stood there, waiting for the long minute to go by.

"You're not going to use a weapon?" Asked his opponent.

"Nope" responded Tohaku.

"Cocky little bastard." Grunted the enemy. "That will just make you lose quicker!"

As soon as the timer hit zero, the knight charged.

"Core Gelida" said Tohaku in Latin. "Frozen Core."

"What? You're one of Them?" Squealed the knight. The temperature dropped rapidly.

"Nivei Flos Florens Deserta" he continued. Blooming flower on a snowy plain.

A thin layer of ice spread across the pavement, and underneath the iron boots of the progressing attacker.

"Ha! What's that going to do-woah!" He fell over, and slid towards Tohaku. The other knights had their boots stuck to the ground, unable to run away.

"Easy, that was to incapacitate you. You are going to sit here while I calmly walk away. Any questions?" He asked.

"Damn….. you!" He said.

"Tsk tsk, you shouldn't say that to someone who can kill you by saying an incantation!" Tohaku started walking away confidently.


	15. Chapter 15- The Plan

**hello! Sorry about not updating, just had a lot on my plate recently.**

 **so here we go! I really plan on going in depth with Tohaku, so shoot me recommendations if you can!**

Since the Guild System is unlocked on floor four, the unofficial ones people had amused Tohaku. Already, the Aincrad Liberation Squad, also known as the Army, and the HDA have been 'founded'. This whole game amused Tohaku, and he planned to make it more amusing.

He learned early on that he had the power of Ice. This scared him originally, but he learned how to use it; to spin elaborate traps, and freeze your opponents into submission. It really was easy for someone of his intellect, and who ever got between him and his goal would be damned to a very cold grave.

It was very unfortunate that he had to fight those HDA knights, but it proved entertaining nonetheless. He was still level one, not wanting to level up, and letting his Power do the talking. He hated being this brutish, but again, it amused him. He disliked flaunting his Power, but Aoki must remain untouched for now. She was key in a long chess game he was planing. A very big key. Sadly, Tohaku was not a key part. He knew that he would have to die in order for his Plan to work. He was not afraid of death. He was afraid of a wasted death. What would happen if he died, and his Plan did not work? The Plan was all that mattered… but what if it didn't work?

He shook these thoughts out of his head. ' I was made to be better than my predecessor, Stephen! I cannot let these petty emotions get the better of me!'.

He was always told that he was smarter, stronger, and superior to Stephen in every way… yet Stephen could beat the CPU Chess Champion, and Tohaku couldn't. Stephen got rescued, Tohaku got left behind. Stephen got all the attention, Tohaku was shunned.

'What am I here for?' He asked himself when RECT gave him the NerveGear, and told him to enter SAO. 'I don't know, but I will make this fun!'

Later, he thought about how he didn't owe RECT anything…. and how he should take his revenge in them for neglecting him. But, it would require Tohaku to die. At a specific time. He sighed. 'I hate him….. yet I must help him. Oh, the irony.' He thought.

* * *

There was a rabbit-like being in front of us. It had black fur, a black tail, and no body armor. Its head was covered with a iron helmet. I was in front of it, taking the blows with my ax while Silica dealt them from behind.

It swung its barbaric ax down at me, and I dodged to the side quickly, swinging out with my own, cutting off its hand. The Ruin Kobold Trooper recoiled back at its loss of a limb… right into the awaiting blonde. She lept in the air, driving her Wolf's Fang knife deep into its neck. It howled, the piercing note hurting my ears. I dove forward, slicing my battle ax sideways into its gut with a Whirlwind. It shook Silica free, and she landed next to me. It staggered backwards, recovering from our onslaught.

I helped my friend up. "Hey there, no sleeping during a fight" I quipped.

"Sorry" she muttered.

I looked at our enemy. It was at less that half health, but still deadly. The Trooper's hand regenerated, and gripped the handle of the shaft connected to the crescent blade. It growled deeply.

"Yeah, I can be very descriptive of where you can shove that ax" I said to it. "Hey, Silica-chan. I am going to give you an opening to get into its guard. Finish it off."

"Ok" she said, crouching, watching, waiting.

"Yo! Bitch! Hi, how are you today?" I said, running forward.

It locked onto me, and growled deeper.

"What, you don't like that one? I have more!"

It raised the crude ax as I approached, and the blade glowed as a Skill started.

I grinned. "Come at me!" I roared, and used Uppercut. Our two blade clanged as they met, the recoil sending us both back. Silica lept in faithfully, using the early knife skill Gore Hand, driving her little blade right into the Trooper's exposed upper chest. The Trooper was driven into a wall form her forward force, and it dropped the weapon with a clang. It howled in pain.

I came over, and dealt a quick blow to the neck, killing it.

After it exploded in little blue lights, I slumped against a stone wall of the Floor One Labyrinth. The Experience Window popped up with my meager earnings.

"Damn" I said. "These stats are barely better than a Dire Wolf. And sooo much harder to kill"

"Hai" answered Silica, sitting next to me.

That was our eleventh kill, and neither of us had leveled up yet…. and we still didn't have a sure way to fight one easily. My tomahawks barely affected them, even when struck in the chest. This lead to much frustration on my part. 'I am going to have a word with Lis' I thought. 'At least I still have Iron Head.' I lifted the battle ax appreciatively.

Silica laid down, putting her head in my lap. "Please, a ten minute break Teika-kun" she pleaded.

I laughed at her antics. "Sure."

I ran a hand through her hair, and felt the sweat there. I didn't mind, knowing that I probably was damper, having to lift the heavier weapon.

"Or longer" she mumbled, enjoying the petting.

I laughed again, wanting to rest as well, but a certain Fire Mage had to ruin it.

"Ah hem" she 'coughed'. "Sorry, but aren't we here grinding?" She was about two meters away, and staring at us pointedly.

"No, Silica and I are here grinding. You are here complaining" I said. Silica was about to move, but I resumed my stroking, and she paused. I could swear she was purring.

"I'm not a lazy bum who can barely take on a level six mob!" She exclaimed.

"Hey! I don't see you fighting!" I said.

Silica stirred at the time of my voice, but I placed my other hand on her bare shoulder.

Another Trooper spawned. "Fine" she said.

After opening her menu, and studying something, she smiled. "Hey! Over here!" She called. The Trooper turned slowly, and faced her. When it locked on, it rushed forward, ready to kill.

"Augue!" She cried, raising a hand. A pentagram appeared, glowing with red light. 'Fireball?' I thought.

She smiled. I saw the energy start to build up as the attack charged quickly. Then…. the pentagram fizzled out and died, no Fireball shooting from where it disappeared.

"Damnit!" She shouted, and the Trooper was almost on top of her.

A hatchet and a shuriken sprouted from its neck, catching its attention.

Silica and I stood in the follow-up position of a throw. She drew her knife, and I my Iron Head.

I raced forward, raising the ax over my head with both hands. It turned quickly, and swung downwards, aiming for my head.

At the last second, I jumped, missing the ax my centimeters. I used the Trooper's shoulder as a prop, and got behind it.

Silica flashed forwards, using a skill called Quick Knaw. It was a two hit skill comprised of slashing attacks meant for the opponent's chest and neck.

While it was temporarily stunned from the blows, and spun. Whirlwind biting deep into its chest. It staggered away, health vastly depleted.

It howled a keening pitch, as though it was calling for help. Sure enough, behind it more Kobold Troopers spawned, readying for a fight.

"Great. It's got friends" I said. I counted twelve Troopers in all. "Hey, Silica-chan. You up for a challenge?"

"As long as you're by my side, this won't be a challenge." She said, ready.

* * *

"Ugh" I said, mentally and physically exhausted. I plopped into a chair next to the bed. We were inside an inn that Aoki paid for (since she still had the funds from The Fatal Scythe), and it felt good to be back. This room was relatively large, being about a nine and a half square meter room, with a decent size double bed at one wall. The sheets were white, and basic, the walls, floor, and ceiling dark oak wood. There was a chair next to the bed, with a desk, and a candle on top of the desk. The light in the room came from the candle, but during the day, the window across from where I sat would be lit.

"Agreed" said Silica, sitting heavily on the bed. "Can we please not do that again?"

"Well… I got an ok amount of col" I said. "But I think that taking on that many Kobold Troopers isn't a good idea."

"Woulda been easier if I could nuke 'em" Aoki said, filing inside.

"Much easier." I agreed. "But, then I wouldn't have gotten any col, and I was nearly out."

"Hrmph" she commented. "Well, it's nine forty. I guess it's time for sleep."

I stood, and exchanged the clothes I was wearing with dark nightclothes. The girls did the same, using the menu. I walked over to the foot of the bed, and lay on the ground, used to the uncomfortable surface.

I heard shifting on the bed as the girls lay down, and someone blew out the flame, dousing the room in darkness.

I lay there, facing upward. Thoughts ran through my head as I planned the next day, and calculated odds of survival in each scenario. Trying to occupy my mind with everything except what ran through it every minute of every day: 'What if…'. This would be followed by 'Natsuki dies?'. Then 'Silica dies?'. Lately 'The HDA catches us' and 'if I die? what will Natsuki and Silica do?'.

I shivered as these scenarios ran through my head, and I tried to banish them, but couldn't. An image of Aoki laying on the ground, a sword through her gut, liters of blood pooling around her on flagstones. A second body appeared beside her, taking Silica's figure. It too, was dead, with scarlet liquid coloring the ground.

I heard a sound, but couldn't pinpoint it. It sounded like someone shushing me. 'Why would someone do that?' I thought.

"Shhh. I'm here, Teika-kun" I heard, and felt something stroke my head. It was Silica's voice. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you"

I felt something soft press against my cheek. My eyes opened, and I looked beside me to see the figure of a little girl curled up beside me, pressed against my side, under my arm. 'Why is she here?' I thought.

I felt something wet under my eyes, and raised my other arm, to wipe it away. 'Was I crying?'

I realized I had fallen asleep, and dreamed that. Silica must have gotten out of bed, forfeited the comfortable mattress, for the floor alongside me.

"Anything….for….Teika-kun" she muttered. Silica curled up under my arm, and pressed closer to me. "I'm….here…. don't….cry…."

I moved my head closer to her, and whispered. "Thank you"

She smiled, and relaxed.

* * *

He stood outside the inn where They slept. He had a plan now, all that had to happen were for Teika, Aoki, and Silica to do exactly what he wanted, then it would be easy. Tohaku sighed. 'Soon.' He had started developing feelings for the little one, Silica. She was cute, and innocent, and always made him smile with her comments. They didn't know he was following them, but they didn't need to. Sighing again, he started walking away. 'Maybe I should hold off before executing the Plan? Well, it would work now, so I better before the variables become too numerous'

He had business to attend to. Like telling the HDA where They were.

 **Now, it begins...**


	16. Chapter 16-Kaze and Chikyū

**the inspiration for this chapter comes from Failtastic Belt, so thank him!**

 **shoutout to Thunderwolf7226 for helping me out!**

 **make sure you read 'Sun Dancer' by Failtastic Belt, our stories are going to get intertwined eventually...**

Miho sat in a pub on floor one. He took a long swig from a foul smelling, and an even more foul tasting drink in a wooden mug. The lighting was dim, and he could almost be invisible if not for his huge figure. Fully erect, he was over two meters tall, and weighed north of two hundred and twenty kilograms. An npc waitress approached him, and stood patiently.

"More" growled the brute, pushing the mug forward.

"You have to pay for what you have already drunk. You owe four hundred col. Can you pay this?" She asked.

"More" growled Miho again, thumping the mug on the table. The truth was that he already burned through his cash, and only had twenty col on him.

"Sorry, but I can't until-"

"Here" a small bag was thrown in first of the npc.

She smiled, "thank you" she poured some more of the liquid.

She walked off. A girl, of maybe thirteen sat in front of him. "Hello" she said.

"I don't need your charity" grunted Miho. He pulled the hood of his black cloak deeper over his head.

"I am not giving charity. I am being friendly." Said the little girl. She had black hair, and matching eyes. Her figure was very lithe, and she had an aura of innocence about her.

"I don't care. Scram girl." He grunted. He took a swig from the mug.

"That's not nice!" She extended her hand. "My name is Mayoko. What's yours?" Her head tilted to the side cutely.

"Why do you care?" Demanded Miho. "What am I to you?"

"You look like someone who needs a friend!" She said, her voice genuine. "C'mon! What do you have to lose?"

The brute sat there, thinking. "Miho. I am Miho." He didn't extend his hand.

"Well, it's a start!" She said, taking back the hand.

There was the stomping of metal boots on wood. Miho looked up, and saw three armored knights in front of him.

"We are knights of the Holy Dragon Alliance. I do not see a name cursor over your head. What is your name?" It was phrased like a question, but was a command.

"Leave him alone!" Said Mayoko.

"Sit girl, this does not pertain to you" commanded the baritone of the knight.

"No! Leave him alone! Now! Before I get angry!" She exclaimed.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Demanded the knight. "Ha!"

The knights reached out towards Miho, and grabbed him. They pulled him struggling out of the booth.

"Ugh" he grunted as the three knights overpowered him.

"Get off him!" Mayoko demanded, reaching for a knife on her waist.

"Girl. Go away" groaned a knight, as they forced the giant out of the pub, and onto the street.

Miho fell to his knees, now free from his restrainers. The knights stood a few meters away.

"Now, I will ask one more time. Give me your name" they all drew longswords, and brandished the weapons.

Miho stood up, his form still hidden by the cloak, but his figure was menacingly large.

"Fine" said one. He brought out his menu, and sent a [Duel Request]... to [Whole Loss]. The loser of the fight would die.

Before he could hit any of the available buttons, Mayoko appeared beside him. "No! Challenge me!" She demanded, stomping a foot.

"Why?" One said.

"Don't you see her name? She's Mayoko! She's one of the Mages!" Spat another.

"Fine" said the one Miho guessed was the leader. After hitting the appropriate buttons, Mayoko was sent the request.

She hastily hit [Accept].

"No!" Said Miho. "Run, girl!"

"I won't!" Said the teen girl. "I never run from someone in need! Never again!"

The timer was ticking down.

"But you will die! He is a knight!" Said the brute. "Run while you can"

"Don't worry" she looked at him, her head tilted to the side. "Just trust me"

The timer hit zero. The iron clad man ran forward. "Die, you scum!"

She raised a simple longknife, and kissed the blade. "[Bless Me, God of the Wind, Horus]" her dark clothes had an aura around them, and a rune appeared on her cheek, "風". Wind.

She opened her eyes, irises now green. "This is what you get for messing with someone I know!"

She raced forward, thrusting her knife with [Gore Hand]. She was a blur, and Miho was unable to follow her with his eyes, but when she stopped moving, the knight looked like Swiss cheese, with more holes in his armor than pores in a person's body. His hp was depleted. "What…. the…" he exploded into blue lights.

Mayoko sheathed her knife on the small of her back. "I fight for people who need it, and against people like you" she said. Her black cloak billowing dramatically.

"Mayo….ko?" Said Miho. "What did you do?"

"We need to go" she said, running to him, and helping the giant up. "I know a place we can hide" she grabbed his hand, and proceeded to lead him out of the city.

"I am too slow, the knights are catching up" said Miho. "Just let me go. You have done enough."

"No! [Wind of the Angels, Guide my Steps]!" All of a sudden, she dragged him as her speed increased to that of a horse.

* * *

He sat at a pond, near the edge of the Floor. Miho rinsed off his face, calming himself. 'I have a crazy girl as a friend. What could go wrong'. He thought. He brought the hood of the cloak down, covering his face more, hiding it in shadow.

"I'm baaack!" He heard the singing voice of Mayoko. "Miho!" She came over. "We need to start getting ready to stay the night out here. Can you please get some water so I can boil some food?" She asked, handing the brush a large pail.

"Ok" he said, standing. 'I guess it's better than death'.

After he came back with a full iron bucket, he saw Mayoko had gotten a fire started. The little girl was throwing some small twigs on the fire as the sun set. She had rigged a platform about ten centimeters above the fire using some sticks and a flat stone. "Hey! Put the water on top of the stone!" She said.

He did as he was told. Mayoko then opened her inventory, pulled out some vegetables, and threw them in. After that, a timer appeared, counting downwards from three hundred sixty at one second intervals. "There, it will be done in an hour" she said. They were in a forest, by a large pond, evading their pursuers.

"So, Miho-kun, how old are you?" She asked.

"Nineteen. Why?" Grumbled the large man.

"Because I want to know more about you! You and I are going to take on the world! Miho-kun and Mayoko against everybody!" She stood, and pumped her fist in the air. "If it makes you feel better, I'm thirteen. Do you work out?"

"Yes, I do"

"Hmmm. Are you smart?"

"No, not really. I flunked out of high school."

"Oh well! Who cares about that! High school is for nerds!" She walked over. "Can you take off your hood? I haven't seen your face yet."

"No!" He backed away quickly.

She stopped at his retreat. "Is there something wrong?"

"No… I just… don't want you to look at me." He said, sitting down by a tree.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because….. I'm ugly. Everyone says so." He slumped down.

"No your not! Beauty isn't something measured by looks, it's measured by the heart! You are beautiful, whether other people think so or not!"

Miho had a feeling that he couldn't pinpoint. The feeling told him to trust, and like the girl. The last time he trusted this feeling, the person betrayed him… but this feels different.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes!" She proclaimed.

"Do you promise not to laugh?"

"I swear on my life!" She rose her right hand in the air, like a salute.

"Ok then." He brought a giant meaty fist up to the hood, and pulled it back slowly.

His face was atrocious. He was horribly disfigured, one eye being smaller than the other. His nose was slightly crooked, and looked as though it had been broken repeatedly. His mouth had a permanent scowl. His skin wasn't pale, but not tan. His ears stuck out from his head as though he was in the Disney movie 'Dumbo'.

She didn't flinch, she just took it all in. "I don't see what is wrong" she stated, her tone not wavering. "You look fine to me"

That statement meant more to Miho than anything else. "Thank you" he said, a tear sliding down his cheek.

"Come here" commanded the girl. He knelt in front of her, his torso as tall as her. She reached a hand out, and wiped away the tear. "From now on, I want you to call me Mai. It's my nickname" she winked.

"Ok, Mai-chan." He said, standing.

They found a comfortable spot to sit, and wait out their food. Mayoko perched on Miho's shoulder, but he didn't mind, his Str stat was high enough that she didn't affect him at all. The food tasted great, so he thought that her cooking skill must be decent.

'She isn't that bad. If I can get past the fact she is a little too friendly. She did save my life, so I do owe her at least that much.'

"So you are one of the Mages too?" Asked the bass voice of Miho.

"Yup, of Kaze, or wind. Wait, you are one?" She seemed to be truly interested.

"Yeah, Chikyū. Earth." He grunted. "I guess we are kinda stuck together, huh?"

"I don't mind!" She tried to hug him, but her arms couldn't wrap all the way around. "You are a big teddy bear! We will have fun, and protect each other from everything!"

Miho smiled for the first time since the Death Game started, nearly over three weeks ago. "I will protect you, Mai-chan."

"And I will protect you, Miho-kun!"

"Hrmph" he grunted in acknowledgement.

The next morning, Miho woke. The sun was shining bright, and blinded him temporarily. He raised a hand, and shielded his eyes. The first thing he noticed were the iron clad knights. There were five of them, blades drawn. One had Mayoko in a headlock, preventing her from moving. "Run Miho-kun!" She shouted.

"You there!" Commanded a knight. "Kneel down, and put your hands behind your head!"

"Mai-chan! Are they hurting you?" He asked, voice rumbling.

"Whatever you are, kneel down! Now!" The same knight commanded.

"Just kill 'em! He obviously can't understand you! He's a monster!" Another chided.

"Run! Miho-kun! Run!" Shrieked Mayoko.

"Shut it girl" said a knight, and slapped her.

Something inside Miho snapped. He lifted a leg in the air. "[Gravibus Pes]" it meant Heavy Foot. He slammed his boot on the ground with as much force as he could.

"Ha! Nothing happened!" Said a knight. "Maybe you got the incantation wrong, you scum!"

The one nearest him took a step forward, and then a crack spread in the ground. It started at Miho's foot, and went straight towards Mayoko's captor. It was no more than a centimeter thick, but many meters long. It went right under his legs, and a few meters behind him, and stopped anticlimactically.

"What was that?" He laughed.

The crack widened to twenty plus meters wide, making Mayoko and her captor fall. He didn't move, trusting Mayoko.

"You bastard!" One knight said.

"Yes, I am a bastard." Admitted Miho. "But I am a bastard with a Wind Mage as a friend, not an enemy."

"But she fell into the hole too!" He exclaimed.

"Excuse me" came a singsong voice. "But I am capable of running on walls rather easily." Mayoko leapt out of the hole, and raced high through the air. Miho held out his hand, palm up, and Mayoko used it as a landing pad, crouching to take the impact from her knees. "And Mayoko makes her triumphant return!" She bowed. "At your service" she mocked.

"Damnit! They killed Moki!" One knight said. "Get them!" He ran forward.

"Nope" said Mayoko. She kissed her knife. "[Bless me, God of Wind, Horus]!" The rune of Kaze appeared in her cheek again, and she was off like a whirlwind. The first knight got sliced quickly, but he remained alive. He fell at her attacks, too quick to follow. The others stopped, and gawked at her speed.

"Run!" One of them said, and turned tail to do as he said.

The others followed quickly, dropping their swords in their haste.

"Please! Have mercy!" Said the knight on the ground, cowering. His hp bar was at a sliver of what it could be.

"You weren't gonna give Mai-chan any mercy" said the giant, walking forward to literally strangle the life from him.

"But we are better than you" he said finally, standing right next to the knight. "You better run before I decide otherwise." He grunted.

He got up, and did indeed run.

"You are too nice" said Mayoko. "But you are right."

"I really didn't want to let him go." He admitted.

"Then why did you?" She asked.

"There will be more than enough bloodshed over these petty so called [Powers]" he explained.

"Ya know? For an idiot, that was certainly very smart" she said.

 **Yes! More OCs!**


	17. Chapter 17-An Icy Encounter

**i must explain something really quick.**

 **i use google docs to type my chapters, and put around words, like Augue or Dire Wolf. When copying over the chapter, the doesn't copy, so all that could be seen was the words, like Dire Wolf. I am now using brackets, [] around these.**

 **thanks to Thinderwolf7226 for catching this!**

Alright, guys! We are going to take a ten minute break!" Yelled Klein. Everyone immediately found a tree, and slumped down in front of it. Wraith was no exception to this rule, as he too, was tired. 'Damn, why does he have to work us so hard?' He questioned in his mind. He peered through the solid white mask he always wore. If anything, he was the groups assassin. He had a really high [Stealth] skill, so he could easily sneak up on things, and deal a lot of damage quickly. He sighed inwardly, outwardly, he always tried to have this composure that rivaled that swordsman Klein always talked about, names Kirito.

"Wow, you guys are still that out of shape? Kirito would be halfway to level fifty by now!" He exclaimed.

"Not fighting these mobs, he wouldn't." Grumbled Dale, a large tank."he would be halfway to five, like us."

"No! I am level eight! And Wraith over there is level nine! He has just been working harder than the lot of you!" Said Klein, trying to pump up the group.

"That's because he is cheating! Wraith is a Mage!" Another spat. He just joined the group, and Wraith didn't know his name. "We should take his items, since he can survive without them!"

"No, we shouldn't" scolded the leader. "His powers are about helping others, not hurting."

"So? He could just endlessly heal himself if he gets trapped somewhere!" Said the newbie.

Klein sighed, but Issin spoke for him. "Dude. You can't argue with the elder like that."

"Yeah, all you do is fight. I think you better leave" said Dale.

"You're just saying that so you can eat more!" Joked Dynamm. "But seriously. All you do is hinder the group. What do you say, Klein?"

The brown haired man grabbed the bridge of his nose with thumb and index finger. He sighed. "They are right. I hate being the bad guy, but you have to go. Here, take your cut of the group's profit, and go" he tossed a bag at him.

"What? You can't just kick me out?" He yelled.

"Dude, keep calm." Said Klein, his voice starting to steel.

"Man, I will call the HDA on you scum loving freaks!" He started to walk away.

"What did you say?" Demanded Dynamm, drawing his blade. He was about to advance, but Klein raised a hand, signaling for him to stop. "Boss, he just insulted one of the family" he gestured to Wraith. "You're just gonna let him get away with that?"

"I can't have a friend kill him over something so trivial." Explained Klein. "Break is over! Back to work!"

"Man, I don't get how you are so passive about all of this" said Dale to Wraith.

The masked man turned towards the speaker. "I don't let emotions get the better of me."

* * *

With his icy blue eyes, Tohaku watched the group known as [Fuurinkazan] part ways with a member. 'Then, he will go tattle to mommy, and bring the knights running.' He thought. 'Good, now all we need is for-' his train of thought ended as a trio walked into the clearing with the [Fuurinkazan].

* * *

I was carrying Silica on my back as we walked away from the [Labyrinth]. She was exhausted. So was I, but I toughed it out so she could get a few minutes rest. The plain before me was about to end with a forest, and I knew it was a shortcut to Horunka. I looked at Aoki, who also looked tired from the day's work. I remembered how her fire wouldn't work.

"Do you know what happened?" She asked, jarring me out of my thoughts as we moved.

"Well, my only explanation is that the [Cardinal System] has banned [Magic] inside." I thought aloud. "But that would definitely make clearing the game much harder."

"Yeah" she said. "Now I can't nuke the bosses." She seemed to be pouting.

All of a sudden, I got a notification. With my arms supporting Silica, I couldn't open my menu right now, so it would have to wait.

I stopped, because I heard a heated argument ahead. I shot a look at Aoki, and she nodded.

"Oi, Silica-chan, wakey wakey" I said, shaking her slightly.

"I don' wanna" she mumbled.

"Ok, then I am going to sit you down." I said.

"No! Don't leave me!" She hopped off my back. "Better now"

"Let's go" I said, turning into serious mode. Immediately, Silica knew what we were going to do. We fanned out, not drawing weapons, but getting ready. Normally, we didn't interfere in others quarrels, but this sounded heated… and it might involve the HDA and their prejudiced ways.

The forest was pretty thick, but I set a brisk pace, and they stayed with me. Once at the edge of a clearing, we heard "Man, I will call the HDA on you scum loving freaks!"

I exited the forest, and saw a group of five people. There was one standing, about to draw his sword, but another was holding him back with one arm.

"Hey, anything wrong?" I asked.

They all whipped around. "And who might you be?" One demanded. He was quite heavy set, with dark hair.

I smiled, raising my hands in submission. "I am Teika. This here his Silica and Aoki. We just heard arguing and wanted to make sure it wasn't escalating"

"Well, consider yourselves sure!" He said.

"Hey, why are you so hostile?" Came a smooth voice to my left.

Everyone looked to see a blonde kid. He was older than me, but not by much. He stood tall, and proud. His eyes had a look in them that reminded me of…. me a few years ago. The vibe I was getting unsettled me.

Placing my hand on a tomahawk strapped to my leg, I spoke. "Two questions. Who are you, and why are you here?"

"That's what they were asking you, Teika-kun" he said, strolling over. "Besides I am not interested in any of you, except one."

I traced his eyes, to Silica. She looked left, then right. "Me?"

"Yes, my dear Silica-kun. You" he stopped a few meters from her, as Aoki blocked his path.

"I don't know who you are, but I won't let you touch her!" She exclaimed. 'Good. She is getting the same feeling as me'.

He bowed deeply. "My name is Tohaku. I am here for Silica's heart"

"Ummm, a little help please, Teika-chan" squeaked the little girl.

"Hey, dude. She is freaked out by you. This isn't the way you make a love proclamation. Next time, try a little more subtle, and a little less psycho." I said, joining Aoki's side.

"You are going to stand between us?" He asked. "Fine." The way he said that word…

The temperature dropped twenty degrees in a second. My eyes widened. "Aoki! He is going to freeze us!"

"On it!" She started generating heat.

"Hmm. Freezing you wasn't my plan. Look down" he said, a cocky smirk on his face.

I did as he told me to, and I saw a thin layer of frost covering the ground.

"Ha! The Legendary Stephen! Yet he has gotten soft enough to allow this!" Tohaku brought on of his hands from his side, and pointed it at me.

'Shit' I thought. The frost on the ground exploded in my direction, and started slicing my body. One would think that snow wouldn't hurt, but this was ice. I was shoved back by the short flurry.

"What the hell was that?!" Demanded Aoki. "What did you do?"

Tohaku laughed. "Exactly what it looked like. I raised my hand" he started strolling forward again. "Silica-kun, I can protect you like they cannot" he extended a hand.

"[Ignium Meis]!" Shouted Aoki. "[Augue]!"

A pentagram appears in front of her hands, scarlet light emanating from it. Then, right before it belched the fireball, Tohaku responded.

"[Reitō Supaiku]. Frozen Spike" her hands became trapped by a icicle coming from the ground, her fireball stopped.

"What the…?" She exclaimed.

"Looks like you are stuck." He said. "Now I can continue unhindered."

"Hey! Dude! What are you doing?" Asked the man in a bandana.

"I am trying to protect myself" he said innocently.

The man drew his katana, and the group behind him followed suit. "It doesn't look that way to me"

"The Holy Dragon Alliance approaches!" A loud booming voice called.

Ten knights entered the large clearing. "Name yourself, then explain the situation." He commanded the bandana-man.

"I am Klein. The blonde kid over there came over, and started assaulting those two" he pointed at Aoki and I. "She tried to protect them, but failed"

"Ok. Blonde. Name yourself." He commanded.

"My my. I didn't think you would respond this quickly." He bowed deeply. "I go by Tohaku. I think I will take my leave"

"No you won't! Put your hands behind your head, and kneel!" Three knights started marching towards him.

"Sorry, I cannot do that. Also, if you take anger step, I will be forced to kill all of you" he had a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"You dare threaten us?" Demanded a knight. They all drew swords, but they stopped the advance.

"Yes. I do. Now, goodbye. [Hokkyoku Kaze]." A fierce wind blew, with snow mixed in. Everyone shielded their eyes from the [Arctic Wind]. When it subsided, Tohaku was gone.

"Damnit!" Shouted a knight.

A white masked man walked over to me. "Sit still" he commanded. "I will heal you. [Seimei No Chi]. Lifeblood." I saw an aura flow from his extended hands, and to my body. My hp bar was increasing steadily, and fairly quickly.

"Thanks" I said, standing.

"So, you are another Mage?" Asked a knight. "I have orders to bring you in."

I pushed the white masked person behind me. "Sorry, he helped me, I gotta repay the favor. Just let us go. You have an ice Mage to find, and we have survival to deal with"

The knight stood there, pondering. "Fine. I will let you go this time." He turned and started walking away. "Let's go" the others followed without question.

"Hey, good talking" said Klein. "You wanna join us?"

"Sorry" I said. "Wouldn't want to burden you"

"Don't worry, you won't! We would love the… firepower…. you guys bring" he laughed at his terrible joke.

"Sorry again, but I am on a specific mission." I said.

"Yo, no prob. We better go" he motioned to his comrades. "Wait!" He stopped.

He seemed to teleport next to Aoki. He broke off the ice on re hands, and then bowed deeply. "My name is Klein! I'm twenty four! I'm singl-" her foot then shoved forward, and up. Right into his crotch.

"Yeah, lover boy, saving ,self for someone who isn't you" she said coldly.

He fell to the ground, eyes watering. "Ow!"

"You don't feel pain in here!" Laughed one guy.

"Oh, right" he said, hopping up. "If you ever decide otherwise…"

"No" she said.

"Ok" he whimpered, and walked away.

I knelt in for the of Silica. "Are you ok?" I asked.l placing a hand on her head.

"I….umm…."she said. "I don't know. That was…. weird".

I smiled. "Don't worry. Aoki and I will protect you."

"But then he attacked you! He can easily hurt you two! I don't want to be the reason you die!" She was about to continue, but I stood and brought her into a hug.

"Damnit. I won't let anyone hurt you" I whispered. "I don't care if they are stronger. I will fight for what I care for, and nothing will stop me"

Her arms wrapped around me as well, and I felt her start to sob. "Thank you, Teika-kun." She was smiling while she cried, so that was a good thing. "I think….. I…. umm… I-" right before she finished this, Aoki interrupted.

"Hey, its nearly ten pm! We better find somewhere to sleep!" She called out.

* * *

'Well, that was close' thought Tohaku as he made his escape. He was walking briskly towards another section of the floor. 'I have found four of the Mages… with me that makes five. I have June left to track, but that won't take much time. Now to check on Kaze and Chikyū'. He pulled out a teleport crystal.

 **I would love pms, or reviews!**


	18. Chapter 18-Curiousness

**to Gothgod9415: thanks (wo)man, I try**

 **to thinderwolf7226: I plan on it**

We sat inside some trees, trying to sleep. It was nowhere near comfortable, but lately I was always exhausted from all the work and thinking. My eyes closed, I listened to the wind blowing through the tree leaves, whispering their message to me that I could not quite hear. I had a cord of rope tied tightly around my legs to keep me from falling out. Silica was on the branch below me, and I heard her soft rhythmic breathing. Aoki was a branch to my right, and she was silent, as usual. I sat, thinking about the new life afforded to me. Sword Art Online is a place I can restart, ignore the world, and build my life without the threat of others trying to put me down. Here, I was smart, and physically strong. Here, I can protect what I want to, without needing a keyboard.

"Sounds like you really have life figured out" I opened my eyes to see a certain blonde facing me. I looked to the right, and then below me. "Don't worry" she consoled. "They are asleep, and won't hear you"

"It's been a while, Nancy." I said. "What's up?"

"You have been occupied, so I couldn't exactly talk freely. Now I can." She shrugged. "I still think you should ditch them."

"But I care for them" I said.

"He, and where will that get you? Six feet under, that's where" she said. "Even if both of them have a huge crush on you, you should ditch them to spare their feelings at least."

"Wait, what?" I said, trying to keep from screaming that. "What did you say?"

"I said, you should ditch them-"

"Before that" I interrupted.

"Oh, the part where both of them really really like you?" She raised an eyebrow. "What, you didn't know?"

"Of course I didn't! That is totally unlikely!" I said, starting to run numbers in my head. "There are many more people who would be much more appealing for them"

"Do numbers have anything to do with love?" Asked Nancy, leaning close to me.

"Yes! Everything is decided by a probability, and ratios!" I said, whispering loudly. "All 'love' is, is an imbalance of hormones in one's body!"

"Oh, so that's it, huh?" Her eyes half lidded in disbelief. "So, all emotions are, boil down to hormone numbers, nothing else?"

"Yes!" I said, more hopeful than anything. "That is correct!"

"Then explain why you haven't left them?" She demanded.

My eyebrows lowered. "Please elaborate."

She smiled triumphantly. "You're the numbers guy, tell me, what is the chance that all of you survive if you stay together?"

I ran calculations. "Thirty nine percent, but why?" I asked.

"Wait, I am not done. What is the chance that all of you will survive if you split up, and form other groups with other people?"

Again, I thought for a moment. "Myself, eighty two, Silica nearly ninety eight, and Aoki seventy four." My eyes widened.

"Yup. Surely you already figured out that you should break it off, and soon before the knights catch up, and overwhelm you." She smirked in triumph. "So, Mr. Emotions-Don't-Exist, why haven't you left them to increase your chance for survival?"

I leaned back, and sighed. Defeated, I said, "I don't know. Maybe I should leave. And now." I presumed. "I mean, if it would help… but I don't know…"

"Why are you so hesitant?" Asked Nancy. "You are the one who doesn't care about emotions!"

"I never said that that is why i don't want to go!"

"But it is the reason" she muttered. "You are too soft" she shook her head. "Just go. You should, it will be better for everyone."

"I guess…. you are right" I untied the rope around my legs, and placed it in my inventory. I then quietly lept off the branch onto the grass and dirt below. My knees bent, absorbing the shock, and reducing the noise. I straightened, and started walking off, my footsteps muffled.

"You are doing the right thing" said Nancy beside me. "This is what is best for them"

"Appealing to my emotions is just going to anger me" I said.

"Touché" she said.

"Teika-kun?" I heard behind me. 'Shit.' I thought, as I turned.

I saw Silica , rubbing her eyes. "Who were you talking to?" She asked.

"Myself" it wasn't a lie, that was for sure.

"Where are you going?" She looked up at me with her big red eyes.

I paused before speaking. "Away. I am going away."

"Why?" She asked. "I want you to stay!"

I smiled. "We are all more likely to live if I leave" I patted her head. "Just go back to Aoki, and go to sleep."

"But I want to stay with you" her eyebrows lowered. "How would you leaving increase our safety?"

"Because, if I leave, you two are likely to join that other guy, Klein. He can keep you safe better than I can." I explained.

"How? You are super smart! You can make weapons without smithing, and can out-think anyone here!" She said. "I want you to stay!"

"But with Klein, you don't need to worry about weapons, or outsmarting!" I said. "He knows how to pick his battles, which is something I cannot do!"

"But I don't care!" She exclaimed.

"Why?" I said. "Don't you want to live?" I demanded to her.

She leaned forward, and I recoiled in surprise, backing against a conveniently placed tree. Her face came close, and stopped kilometers from mine, and she whispered "Because I think I love you" before leaning in, and placing her lips on mine. I froze up, tensing at the movement. She asked away, blushing in the moonlight. "Sorry" she mumbled. She turned, and started to run, but I took a step forward, and reached out, grabbing her arm. She spun around and faced me.

"Silica…" I said, but she got her arm free, and ran off. I watched her go in the forest.

"Well…. you are about as emotionally capable as a teaspoon" said Nancy.

"Shut up! You can't do better!" I exclaimed, storming off, with the imaginary girl laughing at me.

* * *

I returned to where Aoki was already cooking some food she must have killed. It was hanging over an open fire on a wooden spit, and was sizzling nicely. At my footsteps, she looked up. "So, where did you and Silica go to?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Actually, she chased me" I said, sitting beside the fire.

"Ooooh, that is much better! Do you like having a girl chase you?" She teased.

I sighed. "She didn't chase me for affection, at least I don't think so… I came to the conclusion that you would be better off without me, so I left. She woke up, I have no idea how, I was silent, and she followed." I shrugged to her.

"Aaannnddd" prompted Aoki. "What happened next?"

"Well, we argued, and then she…" I paused, not really understanding what happened. "She declared her emotions to me, and kissed me." My eyebrows here lowered as I still tried to comprehend that moment.

"Ooooohhh, Silica and Teika sitting in a tree!" Giggled Aoki.

"Shut it" I growled.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"That's it!" I turned towards her, has tackled the pink haired girl. I drove my fingers into her sides, and proceeded to tickle her. She laughed and bucked as I continued my onslaught, and eventually got me off. We lay on the ground, both laughing. Sometimes, one just needs some mindless fun.

"Well… I am no love coach" she started after her sides stopped convulsing. "But you should follow your heart"

My face turned serious. "I don't even know what my heart is saying."

"And that, we need to fix." she smiled maliciously.

* * *

Miho roared, as he grabbed one of the [Dire Wolf] pack before him, and threw it. The poor wolf slammed into a tree, and its health lowered below halfway from the assault. "Kyyaaat!" Yelled Mayoko as she ran to and fro, carving things with her knife. She was dealing little damage, but it managed to keep their attention off of the behemoth that threatened them with ham sized fists. Each [Dire Wolf] never lasted more than a few seconds when Miho was ripping it in two. For every one that they killed, it's like five more came to take its place, and they pair were growing tired. Sure, with their powers, these were too easy, but when they came in swarms, it's another matter.

Exhausted after many minutes of fighting, Mayoko appeared by Miho's side. "I don't think we can take all of them" she muttered. "Maybe we should run"

"I think we can" grunted the massive man.

"May I be of assistance?" Came a voice, laden with false French accent. "[Sepulcrum Gelida]"

All of the wolves disappeared behind a wall of ice that made a circle around Miho and Mayoko. It was a few meters abreast, and the sun shined through the thin top.

"Mai-chan… what is happening?" Asked the confused giant.

"I don't know…" said Mayoko.

"Allow me to explain." Came that voice from behind them.

The pair twisted, and crouched, ready for a fight. "Who are you?" Demanded the girl.

"My name is Tohaku, bonjour" he bowed. "I already know who you are, so let's skip that."

He was a little taller than Mayoko, with blonde hair that came down to his eyes, which were icy blue. His simple clothing gave the appearance of someone who was used to hiding in a crowd.

"What do you want?" Demanded Miho, taking a step forward.

"To listen to me" he said, "then to judge what you think of my story".

Mayoko shrugged. "Since I doubt we can leave until you say so, I guess we have no choice."

"Good. Now, let's begin"

* * *

Natsuki sat in front of a computer inside her house, typing on a keyboard. The lines of code on front of her confused the poor teen, but she was powering through it with the help of her friend, Stephen. She finished typing, and clicked the 'Run Application' button. A black screen popped up, with the message 'Error' on it.

"Damnit!" She swore.

"Don't get frustrated, it's a simple fix" said the ever-cool and level headed Stephen. "Look at line fifty three"

"Yeah, I declared a variable" she said, not catching on.

"But you never told the computer what that variable equals" he explained. "Declaring it just says that it exists, not tells the computer what it actually is"

"Aaahhh" she said, now understanding. She went to the offending line, and corrected it. "There, that should work." She clicked the 'Run Application" button a second time, and the computer read the code, and came up with a prompt. "Yes!" She pumped her fist. "Done!"

After closing the application, she turned to her friend. "Thanks, a lot" she said.

"No problem." He replied. He seemed deep in thought, well, deeper than he usually was.

"Something on your mind? Other than the answer to world hunger and AIDS?" She asked, joking.

"Already solved those two, now I'm on to cancer" he joked. "Nah, just a biological question for you" he said.

"Ok, shoot" she said. Science was the one thing she was good for.

"Why is your chest swollen?" He said with a straight face.

Hers turned beet red. "Umm, what?"

"Well, at first I thought it was a deformity, but I have seen too many females with swollen chests to think that now." He seemed perplexed. It seems, that starting around thirteen, a female's' chest grows. I haven't googled this yet, should I?"

'Oh great' thought the teen girl. 'The one thing he doesn't google, and I have to answer it. And of course, it's something like this'. "Well… umm…. yeah, I think you should google it" she said, trying to avoid answering about the odd question.

"You seemed embarrassed. What is wrong?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Nothing! Just google it!" She turned her keyboard to face him, and got up. She walked to the other side of the room, and watched his fingers zip across the keyboard. 'Why' she thought. 'Just… why'.

"Hmmm. Interesting." He said, as his eyes took in the information.

'He obviously never had a puberty lesson' thought Natsuki. "Anything else?" She asked.

"Yes, why are females pants so much tighter around the crotch area than males?" He reached to type the question out.

"No you don't!" Yelled Natsuki. She ran forward, and took the plastic board away from him.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked as she powered off the pc.

"Yes! Stuff like that comes later in life! Wait a few years!" She regretted letting him search the first inquiry already. "Shouldn't you be getting home by now?" She asked.

"Your face is red, telling me your heart rate is quite elevated. Your voice pitch has risen, and along with your quick motions, suggest you are very embarrassed. Have I done something to offend you?" He said.

'Damn his mind!' She thought. "Yes! Go home!"

He stood. "If that will mend our friendship, then ok" he walked out the door, after grabbing his Surface case.

After the door clicked shut, she looked down, and realized that her hands were crossed over her own crotch.

'Damn him!" She thought. 'Why in hell does he have to come up with questions like that?' She shook her head. 'I will never understand that boy'.


	19. Chapter 19-Ghosts From The Past

**sadly... Failtastic Belt's story, Sun Dancer, and mine, Cleave, are no longer intertwined. :(**

 **he broke it off, for obvious reasons of always having to ask me what he can do before he does it, so he doesn't change my story.**

 **thanks to Gothgod, Failtastic, and Thunderwolf for your inputs!**

"Imagine for me" the accent laden voice said. "A boy, in a white room. He has a white bed to sleep in, a white desk to sit and ponder things at, a white door where food and a person occasionally make their way out." The person who introduced himself as Tohaku sat down inside the [Ice Tomb] cross-legged. "This boy gets to speak with one person, the Counselor. He gets no other human interaction, and that with the Counselor comes only once a week."

"Oh, boo hoo" said Mayoko. "Why should we care?" But her defenses were taken down by the seemingly helpless teen in front of her.

"Please don't interrupt." He said. "One week, this boy gets a special visitor. This visitor brings in a laptop pc, and places it on the desk. After booting it up, and opening an application, he said to the boy 'Sit, and complete the tests', so the boy did as he was asked. Different tests popped up on the screen, from arithmetic equations, at the calculus level, to pattern identification. This boy did it all, and carefully. He thought that if he did good, the Counselor would see him more often instead of the Other Kid."

"Who was the Other Kid?" Asked Mayoko.

"We will get to that" Tohaku smiled. "After the boy completed the assigned task, the Counselor walked in, and the Visitor stood, and whispered in the Counselor's ear. The boy was still able to hear this, though. 'A normal adult scores in the twenty percent correct. Tohaku scored an eighty four percent' he said to the Counselor, who replied with 'And what about Stephen?'. The boy didn't know who this Stephen was, but he seemed important, especially when the Visitor said 'Straight perfect scores across, duh'."

"Ok. So a little competition." Said Mayoko. "What's so important?"

"Mai-chan, I can probably punch through the ice" said Miho.

"Please bear with me a little while longer." Said their captor. "This boy, from that moment on, was scolded, and verbally abused by his Visitors. Now then, we know what insults do to someone's psyche, when they are nonstop, and are directed at a five year old boy"

"So what?" Asked the girl, even though she knew the answer.

"That boy was me, and I want your help getting back at the people who did that to me"

* * *

"Before we can fix you" said Aoki. "I first want to know why you thought that we would be better off without the smartest person in here!"

I laughed at her wordage of the first part. "Well, I doubt I am the smartest, but, I thought that you guys would stick together, and join some anti-HDA, like the Army or whatever group Klein was leading"

"Then why didn't you earlier?" She asked.

"You know how well I work with others." I said. "Not gonna happen."

"Well. The first way to help you feel emotions, is to pretty much talk it out to get to the root of every little thing you feel" she said.

"Wow, now you sound like a website my Psychiatrist wanted me to go to." I said. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Here." She said, grabbing my hands in hers. "What do you feel."

"The warmth of skin" I said immediately.

"Inside you" she prompted.

"I feel…. warm" my eyebrows scrunched in concentration. "Safe, protected, like there is a big wall between me and the rest of Aincrad" I looked at her.

She withdrew her hands. "Good. Now, when you are alone, or awake at night, how do you feel"

I struggled to remember everything about last night. "Isolated, like I am in a box with no way out" I looked at her. "What does that have to do with anything?"

She smiled. "Well, I think you should start sleeping with someone, that should help the isolation, but it was just to see what your answer was. So far, you are going surprisingly deep with these feelings. Finally, how do you feel around Silica?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but no answer came to mind. I closed my mouth slowly, and sat there. 'How do I feel for her… well, let's start with the obvious.' "I am very protective of her, being such a close friend after three weeks."

"Ok, how about when you pet her head?" She prompted.

"...Content." I stated. "Like, a good kind of isolated, like when you held my hand. Like it is me and her versus the world, and we stand a chance."

"Ok. When you gave her a piggyback-ride a few days ago?" She seemed as deep in concentration as me.

"Happy, like the world was at a standstill. I didn't want that moment to end" I said.

"Well, you are pretty in touch with your emotions, your just not interpreting them correctly." She said. "I can tell you what all of this means, but where's the fun in that? I want to see you struggle!"

"Bite me" I said.

"Where?" She asked jokingly. "But seriously. You really have emotions for her. Something a little stronger than what you have for me" This was said a little forlornly, but she continued. "Who knows? Maybe she will be good for you!"

"Wait a moment" I said. "What do you mean by 'have feelings for her'? What does that mean?"

She smiled. "This isn't coding. Feelings aren't like variables where you can pin them down, and define them. You need to figure out for yourself what that means, because if I give that answer, it won't mean anything if you act on what I say. But, I recommend you talk with Silica, and-"

She was interrupted by a scream. Without speaking, we ran in that direction, dodging trees. Then, we came to the edge of the forest, where I saw Silica standing in a fighting stance, in front of another knife wielding girl. The girl had a symbol on her cheek, Kaze. Wind.

"Goodie! You're here!" She said in a singsong voice. At lightning speed, she rocketed to Silica, and punched her in the stomach. This sent her flying into me, and we tumbled into the ground.

"Silica!" I said, "are you ok?"

"I should be asking you that" she said as she got off me. "Sorry"

I got in front of her, and drew my battle ax. "Who the hell are you?" I demanded.

"Tsk tsk" She said, wiggling a finger. "I wouldn't do that!" And then she pointed behind me.

I whipped around, and saw a ham sized fist lowering very fast at my head. I backed up quickly into someone, but managed to dodge the fist. The owner of the fist stood at over two meters, and looked like a heavyweight champ.

"Miho-chan!" Squeaked the girl. "He was being a meanie!"

"No one threatens Mai-chan!" Roared the giant in a black cloak. He ran at me, getting ready to punch me again.

I readied myself, and blocked at the last second, my whole body shuddering at the strength of the giant, my feet digging into the ground as they slid back, my body almost going horizontal. I managed to stop his momentum, but it took all I had. He backed away with a grunt. "Hrmph. You're strong" he said.

"But, not good enough!" Said the girl. I turned back around to see her running at me at breakneck speed.

I tried to dodge, but her knife raked across my torso as she passed. 'Damnit!' I thought. 'What makes her so fast…. wait… Kaze…. wind…. holy shit'.

I pulled out a tomahawk, and stood in a prep position, ready to throw.

The girl leapt, and landed on top of the giant's shoulder. "They are no fun!" said the girl. "I thought they were supposed to be good at fighting!"

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Why are you demanding from us, Teika-kun?" I heard to my right. I turned my head, while still keeping an eye on the pair.

I saw that ice Mage standing there, smiling his cocky smile. He had on a new blue shirt, and black slacks. His hands were clasped behind his back. "Bonjour"

I gritted my teeth. "Get ready to run" I said quietly.

"You can't outrun Mayoko, the Mage of Wind." Said Tohaku. "Sorry, but this time, you lose. Checkmate" he laughed at a inside joke.

"Not quite!" I said. "Nuke 'em!" I said, spinning away to the right, and laying on the ground.

"[Ignum Meis]! [Augue]!" Shouted Aoki, and a fireball shot at them, the size of a basketball.

"[Hyōheki]" responded Tohaku.

'[Ice Wall]!' I thought, and, just as I thought, a sheet of ice erupted in front of them, nearly a half meter thick. The fireball smashed into the ice, and managed to shatter it, but didn't hurt them any.

"Tsk tsk" said Tohaku. "Can you do any better?"

His eyes opened, and then searched for me, for I wasn't in front of him.

"Yeah!" I yelled from behind him. He spun, just as I released my tomahawk. It flew through the air at the ice Mage.

"No!" Shouted the girl named Mayoko. She jumped forward, and snatched the hatchet out of the air, right before it slammed into his face.

His face contorted in anger. "[Anterius Vasque Arcticum]! Arctic Front!"

* * *

Wraith was walking away from the camp. He decided to split from the Fuurinkazan group. He knew that he would only bring harassment, and they let him go… even though he was their healer.

He heard rustling ahead, and drew his katana. He prowled forward in the dim night's light. He stepped out from behind a tree, readying a Sword Skill. He swung… and sliced at a [Frenzied Boar]. He managed to kill it in one hit, and got the meager rewards. 'I'm too jumpy' he thought. 'Guess this damned game does that to you'. He walked on, and heard the trickling of water. 'Especially when it seems the Game is against you.'

He found himself at the edge of a stream. He knelt, and stared at his reflection. His once green cloak was dirty, and torn. His black slacks had frays and holes. The only thing in pristine condition was his white mask. It was a solid white mask, the only imperfections in the convex surface were his nose, with was just a pointed indention, and the eye holes, which were covered with black lenses. The look sent shivers down anyone's spine, and was a great crowd parter. He was a silent killer. An assassin. No, the person you sent to kill the assassin. He could blend into any background, no matter what he was wearing, although if his clothes were the same shade as the background then he didn't have to stand still to be invisible. That's where he came up with his name.

He raised a white gloved hand to the mask, and pulled it off.

His tanned face peered back at him, the hard jawline, raised cheekbones, dark brown hair and eyes. There was a red line going over one eye, vertically. It was a scar from his father, who got drunk after his wife died, and took his anger out on his son. He winced at the memory. 'Here, I can restart. Here, I don't have to worry about what he will do next'.

He placed the mask back on his face. 'Here, I am Wraith'. He stood. 'Here, I am strong'.

He stepped into the shallow creek, and walked over it. He continued on the other side.

He found a nice sized tree, and climbed into it. Once there, he pulled out a whetstone, and his katana. The durability was two hundred out of two fifty. He moved his mask, and spat on the blade. After replacing the mask, and ran the finger sized stone over the edge of the blade, in one direction, repeatedly. The monotonous motion increased the durability by one every five strokes, but only worked if the durability was within one third of its max. The repeated motion soon put Wraith in a sort of trance.

A memory surfaced. It was of him, and his parents. It was Christmas Day, and presents sat underneath a large pine tree inside his house. Little Isaac ran towards the tree, and jumped up and down in excitement. The ones with his name were, of course, the largest. Little six year old Isaac ran into his home's kitchen, and harassed his parents to go into the living room so he could open what Santa had gotten him this year. Smiling, they complied. 'Slow down, Hijo Pequeño (little son)' his mother had called to him. When little Isaac made his way to the living room, he saw a man. He was dressed in black, from head to toe, and had on a ski mask.

"Get over here!" Commanded the masked man. He reached out, and grabbed the child, and pulled him close, jamming a knife against his neck.

"Mama! Papa!" Called the frightened kid.

"Hijo?" Asked his father, coming in.

"Isaac?" Said his mother simultaneously, also entering the room. "Isaac! Let him go!" She shouted, lunging forward.

"Get back, you bitch!" Commanded the masked man. "Gimme what I want, and I won't hurt the kid"

She backed off, and clutched her hands in front of her chest. "What do you want" grunted his father. "We have little money, and no jewelry."

"I want everything you have" he threw down a cloth bag onto the floor. "Fill it up. Now".

His father bent over, and picked up the bag. "We don't have enough to-"

"I said, fill it!" He commanded, pressing the knife a little ardor into Isaac's neck.

"Isaac!" His mother called. "We won't submit to you!" She lurched forward.

The man shoved Isaac to the side, and grappled with the livid woman.

"Run!" She shouted as she tried to take the knife out of the man's hand.

His father was moving forward to assist his wife, but the man overpowered her too quickly, jamming the knife beneath the collarbone. The man ran out, through the back. His mother lay on the ground, bleeding.

"Mama! Mama!" Called the frightened kid.

"I love you….. Isaac" she muttered, and then gasped her last breath.

Isaac felt a tear slide under his mask from the thought. He looked up, and saw the status window for his sword was telling him that it was fixed entirely.

He heard the sound of fighting nearby, and someone screamed what sounded like "[Augue]"

He lurched out of the tree, and readied his katana.

 **In my last fic, I failed to give Wraith a proper background, so, here you go!**


	20. Chapter 20-Saved By The

**sorry for the random updating guys! I type whenever I get inspiration!**

 **thanks to everyone pitching in a word, and to Thunderwolf7226 for proofreading!**

 **how do y'all like the new title? It means "King of Fire" in Latin, and "Ignition" is supposed to mean "starting", ,cuz you need to ignite a fire to start it! XD**

"[Anterius Vasque Arcticum]!" (Arctic Front) Yelled Tohaku, and a blue pentagram appeared at his hands. A column of ice shot forth, and enveloped Teika's body. His torso was covered in the ice, as though a pillar had formed with him inside it.

"What the…?" Said Aoki. She raised a hand to speak a spell, but Tohaku clenched a fist. Teika grunted as the pillar of ice squeezed him, and tried to crush away his hp.

"If you try and attack, your boyfriend will die" he said simply.

Silica gritted her teeth. "Why are you doing this?" She shouted.

"All for you, my sweet" said the blonde kid.

Teika's legs were struggling under the massive weight of the ice block, and he was driving to his knees. "Damnit!" He shouted. His ho bar flashed, and the sign for hypothermia appeared. He flexed his muscles, struggling to fracture the solid ice.

Tohaku laughed. "This was too easy!" He said. "If a little ice was all it takes to down you, then I should have defeated you weeks ago!" He laughed. 'If Teika is this weak, then maybe I must tweak the [Plan].' He thought to himself. "Mai, Miho" he called.

"Hai!"

"Yeah"

"We are leaving. Teika is no longer worth my time." He turned to leave. "Oh wait, I forgot why I am here for a moment." He walked over to Silica. "It is time, my sweet." A hand extended, palm up, towards the girl. She looked genuinely frightened, and she turned to Aoki.

"That is enough" came a whisper from an unknown source. Tohaku saw a thin katana blade block his hands' path towards Silica. "You will leave"

'He must really have a high [Stealth] skill to keep from me noticing his presence' thought the ice Mage.

"And why will I do-" he looked up, and saw a pure white mask. It had a little point near the center, where the wearer's nose must have been, and black eyes. Deep black soulless eyes. The Light Mage.

Tohaku withdrew his hand. "I am sorry for the disturbance, my fellow man! I bid you adieu!" After a deep bow and a flourish, he turned and walked away. "Come, Mai and Miho. We are leaving"

The girl hopped on top of the brute's shoulder, and sat while he followed Tohaku. Wraith watched through the black lenses in his mask. Once they were out of sight, he sheathed the katana with a practiced motion.

He turned, and saw Aoki placing her hands on the pillar that entrapped Teika's torso. She closed her eyes, and concentrated, and after a moment, a loud cracking sound was heard. The ice shattered from the heat generated by her hands. He stood, shaking from the cold.

"Th-th-thank-k-k-k you" he stammered as his jaw chattered. He faced Wraith. "You as well"

Wraith bowed. Then, after standing up again, raised a hand, splayed the fingers, and whispered so no one could hear "[Sana]. Heal.".

Being the Mage of Light, Wraith was able to see other's hp bars, even if their settings hid them. He saw Teika's rising steadily from below half, to full.

When that happened, he spoke without a shaking jaw. "How can I repay you?"

Wraith shook his head, and turned. 'I don't need payment.' He thought.

"Excuse me?" Said Teika, and Wraith turned back. "What is your name?"

Wraith opened his menu, and sent Teika a friend request. Which the ax wielder accepted.

"Well, Wraith. See ya" he said, waving.

Wraith returned the wave, and walked off.

* * *

We picked our way through the forest, walking towards the Town of Beginnings. I was hoping that Lis was there, so I could repair was ax… which was looking pretty neglected right about now. "Hey, did y'all like the clothes I gave you two a few weeks back? I haven't seen you wear them."

The two girls exchanged a glance behind Teika. "Umm…. long story" said Aoki.

"Yeah…." agreed Silica.

"Well" I said, still walking. "We have time if you want to talk about it"

"Ummm… it's a little embarrassing…." she replied. "Tonight?"

"Sure" I said. "Heck, what time is it?" I checked my HUD to see it was past eight pm. "Damn, how about someone start coocking something up?" 'I'm going to have to get my ax repaired tomorrow' I thought.

"Well, who is that gonna be?" Asked Aoki sarcastically.

"Me" I replied with a straight face.

I turned back to them. "This is as good a spot as any. Is there enough wood lying around, or do I need to cut some?" I said, looking at the ground. "Outdoor survival is not my forte."

They both looked around. "Nope" said Aoki. "Hey, take the bark off of a limb you cut down, that will serve as kindling."

I nodded, and looked at a tree a few meters away. Since we were on the north end of the floor, the trees were tall with no low hanging branches. "Pick a limb from that tree" I said pointing. Aoki came over to me, and raised an arm over my shoulder, picking a branch pretty high up.

"That one" she said.

My target locked, I drew my battle ax. After deciding the route I would take, around the tree roots, and rocks, I took off as fast as my high Agi stat would allow.

When I was a meter from the tree, I jumped, changing my horizontal momentum to diagonal momentum. When my feet planted on the tree, I ran upwards, using the traction the bark provided to keep me going. When I reached the branch, I swing with the ax, slicing it clean from the tree easily. I then tensed my leg muscles, and backflipped off, preparing to hit the ground gracefully…

I face planted the ground. 'Ouch' I thought, about to get up. Of course, the tree branch landed on me. "Oof!" I exclaimed as the virtual air left my body. Aoki and Silica were laughing at my misfortune. 'Man, can't seem like a badass for one moment, can I?' I thought resolutely. I brought my arms to my sides like I was doing a push-up, and tensed them, ready to push the limb off, but right as my body lifted off the ground, added weight appeared, forcing me back to my position a few seconds earlier. I heard mischievous giggling from above me, and knew what happened.

"Can't lift a couple of teenage girls off the ground, Mr. Macho?" Teased Aoki. "Are we that heavy?"

"Damn you, you little piece of-" I started muttering.

"What? Can't hear you with all that dirt in your face!" She called to me, followed by another round of laughing.

'Two can play at this game!' I thought.

Again, I moved my arms to my sides, prepared to lift my new burden. Slowly, as to not alert the two stowaways, I pushed myself off the ground. Once my arms were fully extended, I pulled one leg inwards to help support them. Once in this position, I tensed my core, and stood straight up, toppling my load onto the ground behind me. I heard the surprised squeals of the girls, and reveled in my vengeance.

I turned around, with a smile on my face. "Damnit, Teika!" Shouted Aoki. "What the hell was that for?" She demanded. The both stood with indignant looks on their faces.

"I don't know, maybe sitting on the log while I was under it!" I exclaimed.

Her anger look turned into a sly one. "Ok… you're calling us fat… I see how it is"

The two girls exchanged a look, and giggled again. 'Girls' I thought. I faced the log, and used my ax that was on the ground a few meters away, and sliced it into lengths. Once done, I withdrew my [Crafting Knife], and shaved the bark off of one length. "There" I said. "Get something going, I'll be back"

"So leaving the girls with the drudge work?" Demanded my outspoken friend.

"Yup" I said, pulling out an expensive [Teleport Crystal]. "Teleport, Town of Beginnings!"

I felt the tingling feeling of being teleported, and my vision went black. Then, the familiar stone streets of the Starting Town greeted my eyes. It was dark, with the sun having set a while ago. I caught something out of the corner of my eyes: a person scurrying for cover behind an alley. My leather boots clapped on the stones as I made my way through the town. I received a pm.

Message: "go to the inn to your right, the Sliced Hog"

'Sliced Hog?' I thought. 'Wow, such an attractive name'. I looked to my right, and saw the designated building. It was in shambles, with the sign ready to fall off, there was moss growing on the stone building, with vines not far behind.

There was a window, but it was to grimy to see through.

"Few coins for the poor?" I heard behind me. 'Beggars at this hour?' I criticized in my mind.

I turned, and faced the owner of the voice. I saw a dark figure without any weapons equipped. I thought for a moment. "Hey, open your inventory, and show it to me"

"Why should I do that?" Demanded the beggar.

I sighed. "Either you do it, or you don't get jack-shit from me" I said.

"Damned rich kids" he muttered, and did as I said. He had nothing in there, save for a single piece of bread.

I pulled a hatchet off my leg, and gave it to him.

"I don't want this, I just want some col" he said.

"You are either going to take this weapon, and earn your keep, like every other person in this hellhole, or you are going to stay a beggar for the rest of your life" I said. "Because at some point, someone who you owe money to is going to come collecting, and you won't be able to pay"

"And why would I risk my life?" He demanded.

I lunged forward, and sucker-punched him. "Because, that is the only way to make it big here" I growled. "Scum like you deserve a chance, but not if you keep up that train of thought." I threw the hatchet on the ground beside him. I spun on my heel, and walked towards the inn.

"Damned stuck up brats" he grumbled.

I stopped walking.

"What, you don't like what I said?" He demanded. "I got more for ya punk!"

I turned quickly, and ran at him, tackling him to the ground. "What the…!" He said, and then 'oof'ed as the wind left his body.

I got off him. "This 'Punk' is able to kill you with a single keystroke. I am smarter, and better at everything than you are, and you want to know something else? I made myself this good. You dare criticize me, while you lie on the ground? Anyone who is in a powerful position earned it. You haven't earned the damned cloak on your back." I leaned in. "My parents never gave me money. I got it myself." I walked back towards the inn. "It's people like you who are why world hunger, politicians, and political correctness exist."

"Why you-" he started.

"Sorry, I don't have the time to kick your ass. How about this time tomorrow?" I jeered as I entered the tavern.

The lighting was dim, and came from candles on every table, and a few torches at the bar. It was drab, with the wood looking rotten, the smell of ale and mold in the air, and the sparse people. I found a table against the wall near the door, with a view of said entryway. I sat down, and immediately unequipped my weapons. A waitress came up to me. She was wearing a skimpy wite outfit, with what looked like watermelons attached to her chest made of flesh. "Can I get'ya anythin'?" She asked.

"Just a water please" I said.

"Ok" she said, and walked off, returning a moment later with a tall glass filled with clear(ish) liquid. She walked away, hips swaying a little too much.

I lifted the glass, and looked at it. I saw many particles floating inside. I risked a sip, and immediately regretted it, spitting the vile tasting liquid back into the cup.

"Wow, you actually did that, Teika-kun" said the person I was meeting with. "I wouldn't trust any food or drink they put in front of me."

The person slid into the charring across from me. She had on a dark green cloak, with the hood pulled forward, so all of her face that I could see was her whispered mouth. She was about my height, just a little taller, and she commanded more respect throughout Aincrad in her little finger than I did total.

"Hello Argo the Rat." I said testingly. "Shall we get straight down to business?"

"Sure" she said. "What do you want to know?"

I took only a second to think, and responded with "Current events. Being a fugitive, I am kept out of the loop. I am hoping to use you to get back in."

"You know you gotta pay for anything, right?" She said in a soft singsong voice.

I smiled. "Always the entrepreneur. I will pay based on quality" I said. "Half of what your price is now, and whatever I decide to be fitting afterwards"

"A hundred col" she said.

Not shocked by the sum, I sent her half the money via the System. "Now. Info" I said.

"There is a boss raid meeting in two days, December second." She said. "If you think you wanna be a Clearer, then go, and take anyone with you who can help" she said. "I will tell you where when I get the rest of my money."

"Man, you are a hard nut to crack" I said, relenting the amount.

"Tolbana. Find the amphitheater with a blue haired knight named Diavel." She said.

I heard sounds of scuffling outside. Then "Hey! Get off!That's mine!"

I stood. "Give me a moment".

"Hero time?" She asked, standing also.

"No. Just the right thing to do". I walked out of the bar, and onto the street.

I saw two cloaked figures grappling over something. "That's mine! Someone gave it to me!" I heard.

"And? How do I know you didn't steal it?" He sounded as though he just wanted whatever it was. "Gimme the damned hatchet!"

'Oh great' I thought. One shoved the other to the ground, and stood victorious as I approached. "Ha! Serves you right for defying a Beta Tester!"

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked.

"This man here stole an ax from someone, and I was going to turn it into Agil" said the man instantly.

"Then why do I not believe you?" Came my second question as my advance continued.

"Because you're just as bad as him!" He exclaimed. "Stay back! I am a Beta Tester!"

"I gave him that ax" I growled. "And for you to lord that over him really pisses me off."

"Well" he said, and I got the impression he was smiling. "What ya gonna do about it?"

"Send me a duel request. My name is Teika" I said.

"And if I don't?" He demanded.

"Then I will personally drag you into a den of [Dire Wolf]s, and rob you of any weapons." Came my response.

He stood for a moment, unmoving. "It's just a damn ax" he threw it to the ground, and started walking off. "I will remember your name, Teika!" He shouted over his shoulder.

I sighed, and shook my head. I then picked up the fallen hatchet, and gave it back to the beggar. "Go, get a room" I also handed him some coins. "Tomorrow, hunt [Frenzied Boar]s like your life depends on it, because it does."

"Thank you!" The man exclaimed. "Thank you a lot!" He took the stuff, and jogged off. I turned around to see Argo standing there. "Is Agil still up at this hour?" I asked.

"Yeah, usually until ten" she said. "So, still not the hero?"

"Nope" I said, walking past her. "Just someone doing what is right"

I found Agil's shop easily, and entered it. The room was cleaner, and held different wares than last time, but overall, it gave the impression of a Dollar General back in the States. Small, sells everything, and ready to rip you off.

"Hey man" said the dark skinned owner. "How may I help you?" He asked.

"Yeah, just wanting you to get something for me" I said. "Three silver rings, with this etched on each" I gave him a sheet of paper.

"Best quality I can find?" He asked. "Hell, why am I even asking. "Yeah man. It's going to be expensive though"

"Whatever the price is, I will pay you back" I said.

"I believe it man, just warning you." He said, taking the paper.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. "What time is it?" I said, checking my HUD, and seeing it was close to nine. "Hey, here's a thousand col, I need a teleport crystal!"

He handed one over. "What's wrong?"

"I wasn't supposed to be gone this long!" I said, taking it.

"Not everything goes as planned!" He laughed. "See ya man"

"Teleport! Horunka!" I said.

When I materialized, I got my bearings, and ran to the forest, towards where I new the camp was. 'They are going to be pissed!' I thought.

 **Hell hath no fire like a woman scorned.**


	21. Chapter 21-Complex Calculus

**ugh. Writing spontaneously is hard! Having to keep referring back to other chapters to see what you can incorporate! I advise strongly against it!**

 **thanks to Failtastic Belt, your opinion has helped this story flourish.**

 **thnaks to Thunderwolf7226, you have made sure the chapters I post are at least half-decent.**

 **thanks to Gothgod9415 for giving me the idea for Isac, who without, this story would not be complete.**

 **now the boring part of out of the way!**

Wraith sliced his way through another [Frenzied Boar], what he decided he would eat tonight. The plain around him had just been cleared by his katana, cutting down the mobs viciously. 'Why did that man leave after I showed up?' He thought. 'He was much more powerful… maybe he didn't want a confrontation with me for some reason'. After receiving the status window for the meat, he started walking towards Horunka. There, a meeting will be held for the Boss Raid. Someone had found the Floor Boss Room, and was going to disclose its information there. Wraith checked his HUD. It was ten forty two. Still having time to kill before the meeting, he headed into a clothing store.

There were racks and displays with various tunics, shirts, slacks, in various sizes, colors, and styles. He wandered to the Cloak Section, and shuffled through them.

"Hello?" Came a voice behind him. "May I help you?"

He turned, and saw a short blonde teen npc. She had on a not so modest white dress.

'Why is this game so set on... well... gamers?' Thought Wraith to himself. 'Trying to turn on these poor souls' he shook his head to clear it, and then looked around the small shop to see if there were any players nearby. Seeing that none were in the store, he spoke. "Yes. I want a cloak that will increase my [Stealth] skill." He muttered.

"You have come to the right place!" The npc beamed. "We have a large array of camouflaging items!"

A menu opened in front of Wraith, with a list of options, like color, or type. He chose a white cloak that covered his whole body save his masked face. It had a good, but he would only use that to cover the top of his head. After paying the allotted sum, he equipped the item, feeling it drape over him.

'This feels oddly soothing' he said. 'But it is white'. "Can I get this dyed?" He asked.

"Oh, forgot to say!" She exclaimed. "It's color does not affect how well you hide. As long as you have it on, it's as though you are see-through!" She gave a small giggle.

Sighing from the npc's actions and words, he walked out of the little shop. The road was bustling with activity, as players in parties walked around, discussing grinding spots, beggars harassed for spare coins, and npcs went on their merry day, unknowing that we were trapped here alongside them.

He wandered down the street aimlessly, white cloak billowing behind him slightly, yet dramatically. He didn't know whether it was the cloaks' [Effect], or his white mask, but nobody bothered him. He stopped in front of a small house, near the edge of the town. There was a pot in a window, with a flower inside. The flower was wilting, dying inside the pot. He approached it.

"Hello, little flower" he whispered. "[Ego Dabo Tibi Animam]. I bestow life upon you." He stroked the brittle faded petals, and the plant twitched. It started growing straight, unbending its stem. Its petals, which were devoid of color only a second ago, were now a vivid blue. He smiled. 'I have a wonderful ability at my fingertips, I just wish I wasn't persecuted for it'

He strolled away, back towards the city.

"Excuse me" he heard.

Stopping, Wraith turned around to face the speaker. He saw a boy. He was around the age of fifteen, maybe sixteen. He had heavy armor on, with a shield and a broadsword in his back. His bright blue eyes, and golden hair completed the image of a holy knight.

"I saw what you did" he said, his voice not yet a man's, but too low for a boy's.

'He is going to turn me in' thought Wraith. 'This is the end'. Even though he thought this, he did not reach for the katana at his side.

"This is going to sound random, but how about we partner up" said the knight. "If you are one of those Mage guys, then we need you alive, and I think you are a good guy, not like some sadistic bastard that a lot of people seem to be in here." He reached out a gauntleted hand. "So?"

'He is not going to turn me in?' Wraith asked himself. He didn't move.

Seeing the hesitation, the knight smiled. "Hey, I understand. A total stranger just saw you use magic. I would probably think that the HDA is about to come out of the hut right now, but they aren't. Here, my name is Kenzo. You?"

Wraith opened his menu, and turned it, pointing to his username at the top. "Wraith, huh? Odd name… like you a ghost with a vengeance or something!" He said.

'Or something' thought the masked person.

"Not a man of many words?" He asked. "Fine with me, then I can do the talking. So, you going to the Boss Raid Meeting in an hour?"

Wraith nodded.

"Well then, let's go together!" He said, wrapping an arm around Wraith's shoulders, and leading him towards the city.

* * *

"Why did we run?" Asked Mayoko. "We coulda taken them!"

Tohaku thought as he sat on the floor of the room he rented. "Our quarrel is with Teika. The only time we can harm others is if they side with him" said the ice Mage slowly, and purposefully.

"But that masked man was obviously siding with him!" Said the little spitfire.

"No. He was just ending the conflict. He does not wish to actually be in a fight, so he will not chose a side… yet" he said ominously. "He will…"

"So, what now?" Asked Miho.

"Well, tomorrow there is a boss raid meeting, or so my sources tell me" explained Tohaku. "So I think we will go there."

* * *

"Sorry sorry sorry!" I said. I just arrived back to camp, realizing I had been gone for almost an hour. Aoki was withholding the most wonderful smelling Boar Meat Stew because of my absence, and I was trying to win some from her. "Please!" I cried out.

"Where were you?" She demanded, holding a bowl just out of my reach.

"I went to see Argo the Rat!" I said. "I wanted to know what was going on!"

"What did you find out?" She demanded, and moved the bowl to where it was nearly brushing my fingertips.

"That there is an official meeting tomorrow for anyone who wants to be a part of clearing this floor!" I exclaimed. "Please! Just gimme the damned bowl" I stretched out further, trying to grab it.

She pulled it back. "What do you think, Silica? Should I?"

"Nope!" Sad the little girl, shaking her head.

"You sadistic bitches!" I cried, causing them to laugh.

"Well, I won't deny it" said Aoki. "Honestly, it is pretty amusing seeing you beg."

"Oooo!" Exclaimed the usually shy Silica. "Make him do ticks for it!"

"I am not a dog!" I said.

"Yeah, besides, he is probably just gonna run to Argo, and sleep with her… without doing much sleeping" said Aoki, raising her eyebrows.

"Hey!" I shouted. "That's a hit below the belt!"

"Teika-kun would never do that!" Defended Silica.

"You're right" her eyes squinted. "He would probably run into your open arms!" She laughed. "I better leave." She handed me the bowl in her hands, and faced Silica. "He has something to discuss with you, and it's pretty private."

I was yelling at her through the hell-stare I shot at her jolly waving figure as she walked off.

"Yes, Teika-kun?" Asked Silica.

I sighed. "I can run complex calculus in my head, but I cannot speak to another human being" I muttered.

"Just be honest" she said cluelessly. Her head tilted to one side. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Us" I responded. "It is extremely obvious you have feelings for me, and I think I may have some for you."

Her eyes widened in surprise."y-yes?" She stuttered.

"But I don't think we should indulge these feelings." I said. "As I stated earlier, we are not very likely going to survive, and ever day Tohaku is out there, that chance lowers. I don't want you to feel deeper feelings for me, and then I die trying to protect you, or Aoki,"

Her head lowered, and I swear I saw a tear fall to the ground. I reached out with a hand, but her head raised defiantly. "But I don't care!" She said. "Like I said, I want to be with you!"

"I am trying to protect you" I said. "If our survival chance-"

"Screw our fucking survival chance!" She exclaimed, the curse making me gawk at her. "If you really wanted to be with me, then you wouldn't let something as small as a survival chance get between us!"

I turned my head away, a tear falling down my cheek silently. "You know nothing about me" I stood, and started walking away.

"Teika-kun!" She shouted. "Wait!"

Hearing her start to follow, I set off at a fast run, outing distance between us as bitter memories surfaced.

I ran without thinking, or with any vector in mind. I soon found myself at the edge of a river, and I sat in front of it, trying to control the tears coming from my eyes. I tried blocking out the white walls that surfaced in my mind, the white lab coats, the cold expressions, everything.

I felt a gentle hand wrap around my shoulder, and pull me into a hug as I cried. I didn't care who it was, I grabbed at their sleeves, and cried into their chest.

The needles, stuck to syringes full of unknown liquids that would "accelerate" the learning process. The days after days after days where the most human contact I got was a flap in the bottom of the white door sliding open, and a tray with meager food being shoved into the room. The tests, where I excelled, but no one cared. I was just given a harder test. Or when I would fail one, and the Punishment came.

The Punishment was what scared me.

The lights would be shut off, and no one would even walk by my room. I sat there, strapped to my bed with chains, and if I made a sound, I would feel their wrath through electrocution. That was when Nancy was born.

She would sit there, and talk to me through the Punishment. Her stories were always magnificent. Full of knights, and dragons, and tales of heroism, chivalry, and courage where the damsel would be saved by a commoner who was chosen by some unknown force. With her, I could bare the Punishment. With her, I lived.

I lifted my head from the person's chest, and was a little embarrassed to see it was Aoki.

"Hey, sorry" I said, wiping an arm over my nose.

"Are you ok, Stephen?" She asked in a tender voice.

'No' I thought. 'No where near.' "Yeah. Better now, thanks" I shook my head, clearing it.

"Same visions?" She asked.

I never told her what I saw, what I experienced, except that it was something I didn't want to talk about.

"Yeah" I said. "I thought they had stopped."

I felt another tear roll down my cheek.

Aoki turned me towards her, and lowered my head onto her chest. One arm was draped around me, the other was stroking my hair. "Shhhhh. I'm here." She whispered. "Shhhh."

"Thank you Natsuki." I muttered into her chest. "Thank you"

* * *

Silica watched Teika go. He tried to, but failed to conceal the watery eyes, and wet cheek. Something was wrong, and Silica thought she had caused it.

She stood to follow, and tried to keep up with his brisk pace, but was unable to. She reached the end of the forest out of breath, panting. Looking up, she saw Teika at a river nearby, and heard him crying. She was about to approach, but she heard movement to her left.

Aoki burst out of the tree line, and put a hand to her mouth, muttering "Not again" just loud enough so Silica could overhear it.

Aoki then ran up to Teika, and hugged him, comforting him.

Silica stood inside the tree line. 'They… they are obviously close" she thought. 'How could I hope to compete with Aoki-senpai?' She shook her head, and looked on at the two close friends. 'I am short, she is tall, he has known me for less than a month, he has known her for who-knows-how-long.' She sighed. 'She is probably better for him to, since she knows what to do when he gets this way, since it's obvious this isn't the first time. But he said he had feelings for me! But would someone who really likes me... push me away?'

Silica smiled wanly. 'Goodbye Aoki-senpai, Teika-kun.' She turned, and started trekking towards Horunka.

 **Yup, that just happened. I might be the real sadistic bastard here! I would love to hear what you think is going to happen to the gang! From Silica gets ambushed by the HDA to she goes with Tohaku, to Dominoes delivers them a pizza! Anything goes, heck, if I like it, I may ask you if I can use it! This is a call for ideas, mostly because if I don't get any, my next chapters are going to be really really... you know what? I'm not going to ruin it.**


	22. Chapter 22-Being Played

**didn't receive many reviews for the last chapter... hmm.. then it will be up to me to see just how sadistic I can be!**

 **thanks to everyone, lending their voices, and especially to Thunderwolf7226 for helping me write**

"Yo, Stephen, can I get some help over here?" Called Natsuki. We were in a room, with rows and rows, and rows of computers. The desks were all white, and plastic based, which matching walls and ceiling. I stood, talking to Michael about engineering and coding, explaining to him the lack of efficiency in the current robotics lesson plan. I was telling him that we needed more emphasis on the ever changing structure of the robot, and not the set ways of the school. He listened with an ear that absorbed all I said, and comprehended it. 'I love talking to people who actually understand me, I thought as I finished my persuasive argument.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Called my friend.

I sighed. "Sometimes I think befriending her was a massive mistake" I said.

"Friends aren't mistakes" said the adult. "Remember that!"

I walked over to where Natsuki was staring at the screen.

I stared at the screen for two seconds, and realized what she did wrong.

"So, why ain't it working?" She asked in a fake accent.

"You accidentally deleted the ending bracket" I said. "The brackets tell it where to start reading code, and where to end. If one is missing, then it gets confused. Computers are very stupid things" I explained, correcting her error. Once I hit the 'Run Application' button, her code came to life in the form of a username and password prompt. Once checking through it with the necessary username and password to make sure it worked, I nodded. "There."

"Damnit, why can't this thing understand what I want?" She muttered.

"Because then it could make mistakes, inferring incorrectly" I said slowly. Comments like these annoy me. All you have to do is know that a computer is very literal! How hard is that? It can't function unless you tell it exactly what you want! "It just wants to make sure what you want is really what you want"

"Still…. would be nice" she muttered, turning to the screen again.

Sighing softly at her ignorance, I walked away to diagnose a computer malfunction. Someone had uploaded a virus, and it was up myself to and Scas to get it out.

At math class that day, we had a test which I ignored. After everyone handed it in, Natsuki turned towards me from the next row over. The room was full of chatter, so this wasn't alarming. "Hey, do you like girls?" She asked.

I came up with an immediate response. "I do not care for gender, I see all people equally."

"I mean… do you… like… girls?" She seemed intent on an answer. "Like, have a crush on a specific girl?"

"No" I said. "I do not have time for such frivolity." I pulled out a Bluetooth keyboard and my Surface, and resumed trying to give Scas an update, that he was really needing. "Why do you ask?"

"wwweeeellll" she started. "Some of the girls seem to have developed feelings for you"

I stopped typing. "That is preposterous" I said coolly. "I am not the type of guy females of this age look for. I actually use my brain."

"Just saying" she shrugged. 'Damn, why does he have to be sooo… infuriating!' She thought.

* * *

"Thanks… Natsuki-chan" I said to my friend as I lifted my head off of her chest. I swept the last remnants of tears from my eyes. "Sorry"

"You have nothing to be sorry for!" She whispered to me, putting her forehead on mine. "I'm am here to help you. I…. I know I am your best friend, and I will do whatever I have to to help." For a moment, I thought she was going to say something else.

"I do have something to be sorry for" I said. "Agreeing to play this damned game!" I pulled away, and looked up at the full moon above us. "If I had tried to stop us, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe we would be in your house, sleeping our troubles away, while I stress over a complex code I am… was writing"

I leaned over to stare at the creek before me. The water was running slow, so I could see my reflection. I brushed the white hair out of my eyes, and looked at myself. I stared at the imperfect being that was to blame for all of this.

"If I…. if I had never met you maybe this wouldn't have happened."I whispered to my friend.

"Don't say that!" She snapped. "I would still be in this game, with this damned curse for a power, but probably dead!"

I looked at her, and then averted my eyes. "But… if I weren't here, you would have a-"

"I swear to god, if you start saying statistics I will shove a fireball up your ass!" She exclaimed. "The only reason I am alive is because of you! And your…. your profound ability to do just about everything!" She said. "You better not be thinking thoughts of suicide!"

That jolted me out of my trance. To be honest, that was one scenario that presented itself to me. "Why?" I asked.

She hesitated. "Think of Silica. She would be crushed if you died! You claim you have feelings for her, prove it!"

"But she would be alive" I countered. "And so would you"

"But I don't care! I want to be around you! You are a fun guy! You make everything so easy! I don't care about whether I would be alive, because I feel alive around you! Fuck if I die, you won't let that happen!" She lunged forward, gripping me tight.

'What the hell?' I thought. "Of course I will try and protect you, but someone like Mayoko, or Miho, or Tohaku can easily kill the both of us with one phrase!" I fought back.

"Don't you dare! You can think your way through anything, how is this any different?" Her grip around my torso tightened.

"Imagine a chessboard" I said. "If you had only pawns, and fifteen of them, and I had fifteen queens, you would see it as impossible to beat me correct?" I took a breath.

"But I have you on my side!" She said. "You can use eight pawns and beat fifteen queens!"

"No! No I can't!" I said. "There is no way for me to protect you when I am up against opposition like this, there is no winning scenario except that they give up." I sighed. "It is hard to admit it." Shaking my head, I formulated my next sentence. "There is no way" my body relaxed as I accepted my own resignation.

"I will not leave you!" She said. "Ever!"

'Damn, she is stubborn' I thought. "Fine, where is Silica?" I asked her.

"I don't know, I thought you did" was her response.

I stood up, and opened my menu. The awesome bonus to having a [Detection] skill, is that I know where the people on my Friends List have stepped. After activating the Skill, my vision turned from the different colors, to various shades of green. I then saw little yellow footprints a while over.

I walked to the footprints, and kneeled. Judging by how faded they were, she was there a few minutes ago… she saw my episode.

"Damnit" I swore out loud. "Natsuki! We better go!" I shouted, and started running, following the footprints.

* * *

Eating a sandwich, I sat serenely on the early afternoon. Natsuki had invited me to the mall as friends, and I paid for some Subway, so we split a BMT. The wind blew some of my brown hair out of my eyes, where I normally had it. The park we were sitting in was quite deserted, even though a cold front had come in, cooling the temperature down into about twenty seven degrees Celsius.

The bench we were sitting on was the only one not soaked by the rain this morning. The ground was soft, and squished in some places beneath our sneakers, but we didn't care. I was happy to be with a friend. Over the time I have known her, I grew fond of the Jap.

"Hey, lookie there!" Called someone. "Yo, Stephen, I didn't know you had to hire a hooker to spend the weekend with!"

My eyes found the owner of the voice, and I recognized someone from a rival tech school…. someone I beat many times in Robotics, Mathematics, and Coding competitions, earning my school the number one position in the Western World.

He was tall, well muscled, but his mind was as sharp as a razor. He could think of pretty much anything on the spot, and was a tough opponent…. when I actually tried however, he was no match for me, my intellect to great.

"Damn, she's ugly too!" He came over with three buddies, each with a malicious smile of their faces. "How much did you pay her? Five bucks?!"

The goons laughed at the 'joke', being loyal to their leader.

"Excuse me, you brat?" Growled Natsuki, standing and reaching for the kendo stick by her side. Lately, she never left home without it, because I attracted unwanted attention. "You wanna repeat that, and get a nasty concussion?"

"Sure!" He said. "You are a cheap hooker, and he is a no life!" He gave a daring glance.

She raised the stick to follow up with her threat, but I spoke.

After swallowing the last of my sandwich, I said "Please sit Natsuki, and not ruin the perfect day"

"Why?" She asked, glaring at me.

"Let's just say….. checkmate" I said.

Her eyes widened, and she looked all around. "Aaahhh" she breathed, sitting, with a cocky smile on. She clasped her hands in her lap, resting them on her short skirt.

"What do you mean, you little shit?" He asked, whipping his head around. After not finding any cops, or teachers from either of our schools, or anyone for that matter, he said. "It looks like I have you cornered!" He laughed.

I smiled, standing. "Natsuki, how about we go?" I said.

"Sure!" She leapt to her feet. "Where to?"

"I'm thinking… you've seen the anime Bleach, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" She seemed intrigued.

"Well, I reserved tickets for the first showing of the new movie, Getsuga Reborn." I held up the paper stubs. "Worth over eighty dollars a piece"

"How about" said Zach, the guy who I screwed repeatedly. "I take those, and we leave you be?" It was phrased like a question, but it didn't seem like I had a choice.

"But I want to take my friend!" I said.

"Well, am I not your friend?" He asked, reaching an arm over my shoulder.

"No" I said with a straight face.

"You better not disrespect Zach!" Said one of his goonies.

"Don't worry" said Zach, his voice going smooth. "He is a nice guy, and I am sure he will give me the tickets!"

He snatched them from my hand, and looked at them, making sure they looked legitimate, even though he probably didn't even know what real movie tickets looked like.

I took Natsuki's hand, and started walking away, saying "Don't worry, you need my date of birth in order to use those"

"Then how about you tell me?" He said, really wanting to sell the tickets for a hundred and sixty dollars.

"Nah" I said. "Not even Natsuki knows when I was born." I kept walking.

I felt myself be shoved to the ground.

Something forced me to roll over, and I saw Zach's face centimeters from mine. "Tell me" he growled.

"How about" I said. "You realize that there are cameras looking at every angle of this park, so you were just seen assaulting me."

His eyes widened in surprise and shock.

"My proposition" I continued. "Is that you pay me one hundred dollars, and I will keep my mouth shut."

I saw his face go through a flurry of emotions in the seconds that followed, and it seemed to settle on disgust.

He stood, and pulled out a wallet, tossing five twenty dollar bills on top of me. I got up, and put them in my pocket.

I looked at Natsuki, and nodded.

She coughed slightly, catching his attention. "What do you want?" He asked.

"Wweeelllll" she started. "He is charging a hundred to keep his mouth shut… but he never mentioned me"

We sat in the theatre, laughing about how stupid Zach was.

"I have to admit, you are a genius" she said.

"Nah, just observant" I said modestly.

"Nope" she curled her legs up into the chair, and placed a hand on mine. "You're a genius."


	23. Chapter 23-Kora

**I tried showing where I changed the pov, so that should help with the flow.**

 **Thanks to Thunderwolf for proofreading!**

I dashed through the forest, my green vision making it hard not to trip, but by some feat, I hadn't yet. The yellow footprints were getting brighter, gradually. 'What the hell?' I thought. 'Why can't I frigging do anything right?!'

I felt my foot snag on a root, and I face planted a tree. I got up, my hp draining a little because of my high speed. Aoki caught up to me. "Are you ok?" She asked.

"Don't worry about me!" I snapped, running off. "Where the hell is Silica?"

I followed the prints out of the forest, and into a plain, where a dreadful sight met my eyes. Over the next hill, stood three HDA knights, one of them had Silica over his shoulder. The silver plated warriors were arguing with none other than Tohaku.

I, while dashing, grabbed a tomahawk from my leg, and tore it off violently, raising it over my head with a practiced motion. I let the blade fly through the air.

It slammed through the armor of a knight forcing him to fall forward, but it wasn't the one carrying Silica. Now coming close to the group, I withdrew my battle ax, ready.

One knight had his shield up when my body collided with him, sending him backwards. The other dropped Silica on the ground like a sack of potatoes, and drew a longsword. I swung my ax overhead at him, trying to hit his helmet. He dodged quickly, nimble enough to evade my sloppy attacks.

"Ha! All of my comrades tell me you're a feared warrior!" He scoffed. "Take this!" He deflected my strike with his sword, and rushed at me, shoving me to the ground.

"Stephen! [Ignum Meis]!" Came a familiar voice.

I felt a sword press against my neck. "Do it, and I make sure he doesn't wake up" growled the knight.

"Damnit" grunted Aoki.

"Excuse me" said another unfamiliar voice. "Why don't we just kill the lot of them?"

"Because" said Tohaku, just out of my vision. "We are allied over a common goal: liberate Silica-kun. And I know one thing for certain, and that is we won't lose"

"Oh, and why is that?" Asked the first knight. "Our armor rejects elemental damage! And we have reinforcements coming in a matter of minutes!" I heard a laugh.

"Hey, Teika-kun?" Asked Tohaku.

"Yes" I answered, weary of the blade still at my throat.

"Tell me, what is the widest hitting spell Aoki-kun can cast?"

"Don't tell him!" Pleaded Aoki.

"Don't worry" I said. "It's not like it's your strongest. Fire Wall, sends flames everywhere in front of her. Took on a level ninety boss."

"Good, Aoki, on three please use that" he said.

 **3rd person**

"What about Teika?" She demanded.

"I will take care of him" he answered.

"I don't trust you" she countered. "How do I know you won't let me kill him?"

"Because, I am going to shield him and Silica from the blast, but I have to look at your menu and do some quick calculations" he said.

"Hey! No you don't!" I heard Aoki yell.

"Ha! You call yourselves allies!" Chuckled the one with a sword to my throat. "The more you entertain us, the longer this kid lives!"

"Just do it!" I said to Aoki.

"Fine" she grumbled.

Tohaku looked through the list, and did some mental math. "Let's see… my ice loses durability the longer it is put, so I have to know how many nanoseconds I have leeway between the time I defend Silica and Teika….." he thought.

"You aren't entertaining anymore." Said the knight with a sword to Teika's neck. "I think I will-"

"Aoki, now!" Shouted Tohaku.

"[Fluctum Ignis]!" Cried the frightened girl.

Tohaku watched as the pentagram formed, and started to spew forth their tongues of flame. He raised a palm, and calmly yelled, "[Operuit], cover".

He saw Teika's eyes widen in fear as his body was encased in ice, but that wasn't as outstanding as the range and awesome power Aoki's fire brought.

The knights were incinerated quickly, leaving nothing on the ground to signify they existed. Once the flames hit the this layer of ice surrounding Teika and Silica, it started melting quickly. The fire subsided, and the ax wielder stood up, shaking slightly to get all of the ice off of him. Silica also stood up, rubbing her eyes.

"Thanks for not frying me" Teika said to Aoki. Then he faced Silica.

The little light-brown haired girl looked into his eyes, full of rage for the first time since Silica met him.

"If you ever….. make me worry…. that much again…. I'll….. I'll….. I will wring your neck myself!" She saw that he clenched his fists as his wrath took over.

She was about to cry, and say she was sorry, but he tackled her.

She was laying face up on the ground, with his arms around her, and his weight on top. "Damnit….. I was so scared" he whispered.

 **1st person**

I held her, feeling tears slide down my face. "You dumbass" I muttered. I pulled my arms out from under her, and stood up. I reached out a hand with a friendly smile on my face. She looked timid, as though I would get angry again. I raised my eyebrows, and she placed her hand in mine. I pulled her to her feet.

I faced Tohaku and Aoki. The latter was on the ground, panting heavily from the strain of her magic. The former was standing with his arms crossed expectantly.

"I hate to say this, but thank you" I said to the ice Mage. "Also, where are your lackeys?"

He smiled. "Oh… somewhere." He turned to leave. "Silica-kun. You are obviously happy with your friends." He started walking away. "If you need to escape, find me. It won't be that hard"

He brought out a teleport crystal, and disappeared.

I walked over to Aoki, on the ground still. "Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah" her pride forced her to say. "Jus' gimme a momen'"

I knelt, and lifted my close friend in a bridal position. "C'mon Silica. Let's go to town before anything else happens."

"Ok" she muttered, catching up.

"I can walk!" Said Aoki in my arms weakly.

"Shh" I whispered as I strolled towards

"I didn't do it" she muttered. "I didn't kill them. I saw they drew out teleport crystals"

I pondered her words for a moment, and realized what she meant. The knights weren't killed. I sighed with relief. I would hate to have anything on my friends conscience. "Good" I said.

"I'm sorry!" Suddenly squealed Silica.

"What for?" I asked, not slowing pace.

"I thought you and Aoki-senpai were… were a thing" she looked at the ground as she said this.

"I know" I whispered.

"What?" She seemed startled.

"She is my best friend, and there is a level of intimacy there that is very hard to explain." I said to her. "I relied so much on her IRL, and when we entered the game, I thought it would be a great opportunity to show how much I care for her, but she is no more than a friend." 'Well, that sounds a little harsh, but it's the way it is' I thought.

"So, what happened?" Questioned Silica. "Why were you two hugging and you crying at the river?"

I gritted my teeth. "Damnit. I don't know if I can talk about it" I closed my eyes, calming myself from the sudden well of emotions inside. "I know I have to at some point tell you, but I don't know if I can right now"

I felt her hand grab my shoulder, and I looked at her. "Take your time" she muttered, with a sympathetic look on her face. "I can wait".

I grinned slightly. "Thank you"

"Hey, who's that with one bitch at his side and another in his arms?" Jeered someone.

I realized we were inside Tolbana, the second town in the first floor. I glanced in the speaker's direction, but didn't respond.

"Oi! You gonna ignore me prick?" He demanded.

The man stepped in my path. He had on no armor, and had a massive sword resting on his shoulder with the hilt in his hand. He had a cocky smile on his face.

"Excuse me" I muttered, trying to step around him.

"Nope!" He got back in my way. "Not gonna!"

Staring at the ground in a submissive gaze, I said again "Excuse me" and tried to go to the other side. Again, he blocked my path.

"What'ya gonna do about it, huh?" He asked.

'This guy is looking for a fight' I decided. I got prepared to set Aoki down gently, but I heard a commanding voice. "What's going on here?"

I found tone owner of the voice to be a tall man. His jaw was hard set, and eyes hostile. He had an iron breastplate with a sword and shirt crest on it, the symbol for the-

"Damnit, the ALF" muttered the man in front of me. Facing me, he said "Later, kid!" And ran off.

The other man came forward. He had a green cloak on the outside of his armor, and a two handed sword at his waist. "Hello, I am Kora" he said, eyes more friendly. "That was Jorn, and don't pay him any attention. He recently joined the HDA, and thinks he can take on anyone who he doesn't like the look of" he shook his head.

"I am Teika, this is Aoki and Silica" I nodded to my friends respectively.

"Ah, Aoki. The fire Mage" he seemed interested.

I immediately got hostile. "So? What's it to you?"

"Hey! No need to attack!" He raised his hands submissively. "I was just stating it 'cuz the HDA is really after her! Which, makes you and I allies!"

"Why?" I demanded, eyes narrowing.

"Because! They are pig-headed blind assholes who can't see beyond their own ambition. Ever since they started raiding our HQ for supplies, I make sure whatever they want we protect" he explained.

"We don't need your protection." I stated firmly.

"And I am sure of it!" He seemed to really not like the daggers my eyes were sending his way. "Damn Teika, you are really protective!"

"That happens when the whole world is against you" I said.

"Well, know this: the ALF are on your side." He got serious. "We have set up base in the [Black Iron Palace]. Come in if you need anything. Anything at all. Just ask for Kora"

I was getting good vibes from this guy. "Fine" I said. "If I feel we need to, I will."

"Thanks, that's all I ask" he started off. "Oh wait, are you going to the Boss Raid Meeting today?"

"Yes" I said. "When is it?"

"At four." He checked his menu. "In six hours".

"Ok. Thanks" I started off towards a nearby inn.

After laying Aoki down on the bed, as she was unconscious. As soon as I let go of her, she curled up into a little ball, drowning softly. Smiling, I pulled the blanket over her body.

"Teika-kun?" Asked Silica.

"Yeah" I answered turning to her.

"Why did you try and avoid a fight?" She asked.

I answered immediately. "Fighting is a stupid way to find a resolve for conflict. The only reason I do it is because there is no other alternative."

"But, you could have won!" She said. "You can take on anything!"

I laughed mirthlessly. "I am not some damned anime or manga hero. I can't just kick everyone's ass who decides to threaten me or my friends" he gave her a mournful look. "I will always try and find the solution that will give the best chance of survival for you and Aoki."

I knelt at Aoki's bed. "I probably am going to die." I said.

"What makes you say that?" Asked Silica, sitting besides me, and tilting her head.

"The HDA is hunting Aoki's head, so I have to deal with that, and it's a whole guild." I shook my head. "Just wait until more guilds are formed, we won't be able to rest for a single day. I can't take on the world"

I felt her hand on my shoulder. I looked at Silica. "You have me" she said.

I smiled. "That was the cheesiest thing you could have said, but thanks. It means a lot"

Her face turned somber, and she started moving forward slowly. My eyes wide, she placed her lips on mine, kissing me softly.

I stiffened, and she pulled back quickly. "Sorry" she muttered, head turning away.

I reached out, pulling her closer. I kissed her deeply, surprising the girl.

I backed up slightly, and whispered "You really should stop apologizing".

 **Yup, I finally started it.**

 **starting May eighteenth, I might not post often... at all. I will try and at least post once a month, but I cannot promise anything**


	24. Chapter 24-ALF

**yo, Failtastic, I think you will like this chapter.**

 **thanks to all who can keep up with my brisk writing!**

 **if you haven't already, Failtastic Belt's story, Sun Dancer, is a decent fic, and I highly recommend it! It's book 1 in his series, and everything else, question the author himself about that!**

 **thank you, again, Thunderwolf for checking the many errors I make**

Not many people showed up to the Boss Raid Meeting. The event was being held inside an amphitheater within Tolbana that was starting to crumble and decay, but it was a decent location. I sat all the way at the top, and all the way to one side, with Aoki and Silica in between the wall and I. Maybe twenty people showed up, to the sand colored building, but it was more than I believed would come. At the front stood a tall man, with bright blue hair. He had on heavy armor, with a shield and sword on his waist and back respectively. He was talking to Argo the Rat for some reason or other. When the four o'clock bell rang, he went to the pedestal at the front.

"Hello, future Clearers!" He said, in a proud voice. "I am Diavel, and my specialization is Knight!" This served as an icebreaker, since no one was expecting it.

"There aren't any jobs here, idiot!" One person laughed.

"A man can dream, right?" Chuckled Diavel. "Now onto business. My [Party] found the boss room. This meeting is to organize the raid, simple."

"So, what are we going to do?" Asked another person.

"I'll tell you what we are gonna do!" Shouted a familiar voice.

A man leapt forward off of his seat. He had spiked brown hair, and a face that screamed annoyance. "We are gonna take back from the damned thieves in here!" He faced the crowd. Raising a pointed finger, he gestured to us. "Yes, you know who I am talking about! The Beta Testers! The people who have been doing nothing but leaving the rest of us in the dust!" He got very angry. "The Betas have been taking all of the good hunting spots, and all of the good loot, for themselves! I demand you come forward, and give us your items so we can fight competently!"

"Sit down, Kibou!" Shouted one man.

"Make me! You know I am right!" He exclaimed.

"If I may interject" said a deep bass voice I knew.

"And who are you?" Demanded Kibou.

"I go by many names" said the dark skinned man, standing and towering over the Beta-hater. "Thunder Lion, Mountain Slayer, the Chocolate Ax, but you, you can call me…. Tiffany" this caused a great deal of laughing from the mob. "My name is Agil." He finished, since he effectively defused the situation, or so he thought.

He pulled out a little black book. "You see this? This is a guide on how to survive the first ten floors of this hellhole. It was made, and passed out, by the Beta Testers. They tried to help, but still four hundred people died"

'Four…. hundred?' I thought. 'What did they do, Alt-F4, or something?'

"Well, they coulda done a better job! And I won't relent from that!" Exclaimed Kibou.

Sensing a fight coming, I stood up. "Before this evolves into something that may increase that number of fatalities, I will propose a compromise."

I felt the anxiety that came with public speaking well up inside me, but I did my absolute best not to show it. "I do agree, that most Betas are a little on the selfish side, but we should not leave them defenseless. I think everyone here should give up their spare weapons and items so they can be passed out to those who don't have a decent set. Anything else, Lis can smith, or I can craft. If anyone objects to this, speak now"

Silence met my ears. "Good, now then, I will be first" I opened my inventory, and chucked some chainmail armor with a pair of knives, and a shortsword I had yet to sell.

I sat down after delivering the small cache to Kibou's feet. I looked at him. "Your next"

Once a large mound had been made, I said "Now, anyone can go through it and swap out their items for something in the pile. No fighting, or neither of you will get anything."

People picked through the stack, and took an item here or there, throwing their weaker stuff back in. This went on for a few minutes, and then everyone sat expectantly.

I gestured towards Diavel. When everyone's gaze shifted off of me, I heaved a heavy sigh. I closed my eyes, and leaned back against the wall behind me.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked to see Aoki, looking at me solemnly. "You ok?" She asked.

"Yeah" I nodded. "Still can't handle any sort of crowd."

"Come here" she said, pulling me towards her. I scooted over, and she lay my head on her shoulder, and stroked my hair soothingly. I relaxed, appreciating the gesture.

"Well, now that that is out of the way" said Diavel, taking the situation back. "My team found the boss room, and we are here to organize a raiding party. Please get into groups of max seven."

* * *

"Right flank! You need to push forward!" Commanded Kora. The four men at that side, must have heard, because they fought harder, driving the slimes backwards. "Left flank! Don't go too far, or you will be trapped!"

The cave was filled with the sounds of grunting, slashing, falling, and Kora's commands as he tried to complete the people at the center were keeping the horde from breaking through. The mission was to keep them from entering another cave where the npc miners were working. It had been already ten minutes, but Kora could see the strain in his men's movements as they tried to fight on. His troop desperately needed the level ups this would bring, as Kora was double their average level, but he knew it would get tough.

He saw the front line before him give way as all of the men fighting were knocked over by a shockwave attack. Wasting no time, he used the skill [Hot Wave], which, by using the flick of a wrist, brought his two handed sword out instead of having to draw it.

"Rrrraaaaa!" He shouted, rushing forward with his massive sword, he swung the blade horizontally, taking many slimes out of commission in the process. He saw one of them split into two. 'Ah, so that's their secret' he thought.

"Fall back!" He roared. "I got this!"

His men backed away gratefully for the reprise. The slimes quickly surrounded him, but didn't advance, as though they were weary of this single person.

Smiling, he jumped high into the air, and upon his landing, shoved his sword deep into the ground, [Lightning Fall] sending streaks of bright light everywhere, and charring the slimes.

They all exploded, sending their wet contents everywhere, and soaking the tired soldiers.

Shouldering the large sword, he smiled at his handiwork. Then he realized that the small junks of jello were quivering slightly. 'What the…?' He thought, and then they moved, towards a focal point in the middle of the cavern.

The small chunks piled on top of one another, and formed one ten foot tall….thing.

"He, you wanna tango, huh?" He demanded, getting ready to jump. "Then let's tango!" He rushed forward with [Sonic Leap], ready to drive his Greatsword through the missive quivering slime.

Right before he reached it, however, the slime shot a rock at him from its depths, knocking him to the ground. He got up, covered in dirt, and didn't see the next man sized boulder come rushing.

He was thrown against the wall, his hp below half. 'Well, it knows how to tango' he thought.

He stood, ready to challenge the mega-slime again, but he saw one of his soldiers run forward with a Smallsword, or a slightly shorter version of the rapier. It's thirty-six inch blade flashed wickedly, the user dancing around their prey. The mini-boss slime died quickly, and thankfully didn't create more slimes.

The smallsword user took off their helmet, and let her long blonde hair out of the iron bucket. "I hate this thing" she grumbled, lifting the helmet. "Restricts my vision too much, can I please not wear it, Kora-dono?"

Her sparkling green eyes flashed with a mirth that none other held. Kora smiled. "As long as you promise not to be as rash as you just were" he answered.

"Yyaaayyy!" She said, gratefully shoving the offending item in her inventory. "I would much rather just have a chainmail shirt, but you won't let me remove anything else, will you?"

"Nope, I won't" he answered.

"Why not?" She complained, pouting.

"Because I know that you wear a lack of clothes at all times." Came his answer.

"What's wrong with showing off my awesome body?" She griped.

"I'll tell you what" said the commander. "If you promise to wear clothing that I ok, I will let you not wear armor, but you have to keep the armband with the Army insignia"

She pretended to think about it. "Ok!". She pulled out a teleport crystal. "Last one back to HQ has to cook dinner!" She exclaimed, and vanished.

Shaking his head, Kora looked at his men.

"Yo, why are you so lenient with Lucy?" Asked one of the men. "I mean, sir, you let her do whatever she wants"

Kora smiled. "Cuz, Jax, I know that she is a speed type, and since she was assigned to me today, I have to earn her trust, and her respect. I can do that by helping her fight better."

The knight in front of him, his second in command sighed. "Well, you're the boss" he said. He then turned to the rest. "Ok, men! Time to head back!"

Everyone got up from their brief reprieve.

"Sir?" Came a small voice behind him. He turned to see one of the miners, with a bag on his back, and a pick being dragged behind him. "Thank you, for your efforts, here is a reward"

A screen popped up in front of all of Kora's men, giving them a significant xp boost, along with a few items that would fetch a decent price back at the market.

Everyone pulled out a teleport crystal, and said in unison "Teleport, Black Iron Palace".

He opened his eyes to see the squad room. It was white, and boring, but was suitable. This was the Rec Room, with tables strewn about, and a mini-bar at one wall. At another, was a door leading to the barracks, where there were five bunks with two beds a piece, one each for the ten men under his command. He slept with the men, in the barracks, while Lucy had a cot in his office, which was through the second door, the one to his him was the entryway to Squad Thirteen's area, and it lead to the rest of the Black Iron Palace.

Sighing, Kora walked over to the mini bar, and got out a bottle of strong liquor. He took a swig while unequipping his heavy armor. He sighed as the weight left his shoulders. 'Ugh. I am so glad we have the rest of the day off' he thought.

"Yo, boss" said one man, who also took off his platemail. "What's next?"

He put on his Commander face, and spoke. "We have the afternoon off. Go, repair your weapons, and have fun" he added the last part with a smile.

"Thanks!" Said his comrade, scurrying out of the room. The rest of the group heard his order, and they also left, spirits lifted by the lax evening.

When the others had left, he took another swig from the alcohol. "Hey, Kora" he heard.

He opened his eyes. "Yea, Lucy?" He asked.

The blonde was wearing only underclothes, with a large shirt covering her torso, and going down half her thighs, with her long legs being shown off. "You wanna pass some of that over here?" She asked.

Grunting, Kora did as she requested. She took a long swing, and sat on the chair next to him, placing the bottle on the small table between them.

"Why aren't you going to go and enjoy yourself?" Asked the commander.

"'Cuz" she responded. "There are other ways to have fun than paying some npc for the night"

"There, we are in agreement." He said, taking, and drinking the strong liquid. He placed it back in the table. "Anything I can help you with?"

She looked down at her lap. "You aren't like the other men…" she muttered.

"Yeah?" He asked. "How so?"

"Well, you might still be a testosterone junky" she started. "But you care about the others. They are just in it for the money"

"What makes you think that?" He said, frowning slightly.

"Well, when the slimes broke through today, you took charge, fighting them all, even though you might have died" she muttered.

"Ok." He said. "Anything else?"

"Yeah" her voice was getting smaller and smaller. She stood up, and walked in front of him. She sat on his lap, bringing her face close to his, and breathed "Kiss me".

Quickly, he raised a hand, and pushed her gently back by the shoulder.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked, suddenly fearful.

"No!" He exclaimed. He stood, lifting her off of him, and setting her on the ground. "It's just…. I'm married"

"Oh" she said, and then noticed the ring on his finger. "Wait, you only have a ring if you are married in game, where is she?"

Kora became solemn, and turned away. "She died."

Lucy gasped. "What…. what happened?"

"She was trying to protect one of the mages, and one of the HDA killed her" he answered curtly.

"I am so sorry" she whispered. "If I had known-"

"You didn't know, and that is the end of it" he said, inturrupting her. He walked briskly away, and into his office. Once inside, he shut the door, and st in the chair at a desk, where he stayed for a few hours, remembering his dead wife.

 **Everyone gets a chapter!**


	25. Chapter 25-Private Conversation

**yyyaaaayyyy! Finally a little intimacy, right?**

 **if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, there is a little Review Box at the bottom where you can post something, an I will get back to you in two days or less!**

 **thanks to my faithful readers, for everything you guys have had to put up with! Especially those who fought through Shadow Reaper (which is in desperate need of a remake)**

 **sure, Sun Dancer by Failtastic Belt is long, with over 200k words, but Harry Potter books are longer, with 350-400k. Try it out! It's actually good!**

 **shoutout to my two proofreaders, Thunderwolf7226 in charge of whether it is plausible, and WhiteEagle600, who is finding every little spelling and grammar mistake in the history of mankind.**

 **i think you should give Thunderwolf7226's fic, Assassin of Aincrad a try! Short chapters.**

 **wow, that was the longest author's note I ever typed. Well, here is the chapter!**

Miho and Mayoko sat in a cell deep underground. It was dark, but they had opened their menus for light. The Holy Dragon Alliance had conquered a dungeon on the first floor, and had claimed it for their own. Somehow, mobs didn't spawn here, but everyone attributed that to the mass of players and the System not allowing too many beings in one spot. They sat there, Mayoko humming a tune she remembered from IRL.

"Hey, Miho-kun" she said. "Are you awake?"

"Yes, I am" grumbled the man-mountain

"Tohaku should be here in three….. two….. one…"

* * *

Tohaku stood in front of a guardsman, him pinned to the wall by a sheet of ice coating his torso.

"Once again, where are the cells?" Asked Tohaku in a polite voice. "I shall get very angry if you don't answer, and even angrier if you lie"

The soldier struggled fruitlessly. "And why should I tell you anything?" He demanded.

"Because you are a selfish pig, who when I promise you freedom, will scamper for the opportunity." Came the retort, cool and level headed as always.

The guard stopped struggling. "Put me down and I will tell you" he said.

"Or, tell me and I will put you down"

"Fine! Through this door, take a right, and there will be stairs!" He exclaimed. "Now let me go!"

"To let you call reinforcements and possible kill my friends? No. I won't kill you, but you will have to sit there for a few hours while that ice melts." The ice Mage turned and followed the directions given to him.

"Wait! What if I lied?" Cried out the guard.

"Then I will know exactly where to find you" Tohaku tossed over his shoulder. He walked through the door in front of him. There stood two more guards.

"What the-" one said.

The other came up with "Who are you?"

"I am Tohaku, bonjour" he bowed. "I am the ice Mage of Aincrad, and am here to free my friends."

"Ha! You think that we will let you do that!" Laughed the first, drawing his one handed sword.

"Yes" said Tohaku. "[Frigidum]". Pikes made of ice shot out of the ground, and slammed into their chest plates, piercing through. They hung there, gasping from the cold. "That attack is called [Frozen Heart]. As you have guessed, the corresponding organ has just been punctured. Do not worry, you will not die, just as long as you don't move. If you do, the icicle inside of you will cause catastrophic damage, with your death a very likely scenario"

Tohaku walked calmly away, and found himself at an intersection of tunnels. Choosing the right, like he was instructed, he found himself descending. He reached a heavy oak door, and pushed it open. A very nasty odor met his nostrils, but that was to be expected from a place where people were locked away for days.

"You're late, Toku-kun!" Called Mayoko, using her pet name for him.

Smiling, the Mage took in his surroundings. There were two sets of cells, on set on either side of the room, and they extended the length of the room. The cells themselves were made of iron bars.

"I know, I am sorry monami, but I have trying for the past ten minutes to get someone to tell me where you are" he answered, finding their cells.

"Miho, would you please break yourselves out? I have been using a lot of magic lately, and am pretty tired" he asked the brute.

"Sure" grunted the massive man.

Miho approached his barred door, and gripped it with his large hands. With a grunt, the cage door came off of its hinges violently, and loudly. He threw it to the back of the cage, and proceeded to free Mayoko. When the pair stood in front of Tohaku, he smiled. "Sorry, but it was truly safer for you two to be in here. I can understand you probably did not like the lack of comfort and elegance in these… sleeping quarters"

"If you say it was safer, then I believe you!" said Mayoko.

"And I follow Mai-chan" said Miho. "If she believes you, then I do".

Smiling wider, Tohaku lead the way out of the prison.

"Why did you want us here, though?" Asked Mayoko, sitting on Miho's shoulder.

"I had to deal with something alone, and if you were there, it would have made my plan harder to pull out. You both have very specific qualities, but at the time, those qualities would have gotten us killed" he answered.

"Oh" said Mayoko, saddened slightly.

"You are still the only people I can trust, so don't think I don't like you" he turned while walking a flashed a smile.

"I know! Toku-kun believes in us!" Mayoko pumped a fist in the air.

"Now then, the Boss Raid is tomorrow morning. We will be a part of it. By the way, our powers do not work in the Boss Room, so hone your weapon skills before the fight." Cautioned the genius.

"Yessir!" Shouted Mayoko.

"Ok." Said Miho at the same time.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO WITH THIS THING?!" Shouted Lis, holding my ax with less than 50/250 durability.

"Umm… grind?" I muttered, trying to escape her wrath.

"IT LOOKS LIKE YOU WENT AROUND SMACKING AN IRON BLOCK!" She cried out, glaring at me.

"You're not too far from the truth" I said honestly, remembering my encounters with knights.

I heard a sound that was very similar to a growl come from the blacksmith. "You better pay a handsome fee for this!".

She raised her hammer, and started pounding relentlessly on the blade. While she did this, I withdrew a large sum of one k of col, and dropped it off on the counter, careful not to disturb her. I then thought about it, and dropped another four thousand in there, with a note saying "Now I have some credit for next time!"

I made my way to Agil's shop. Once inside, I heaved a sigh of relief, since the road was crowded, and it took all of my willpower to get across the short distance.

"Hey, man" said the shopkeeper. I opened my eyes, and saw that he was polishing a breastplate. "What's up?"

I stood straight, and bowed. "Was looking for some light armor"

"Well, I got a lot of stuff, c'mere and take a look" he produced a large book from a drawer at the counter. I walked over to it, and opened the large volume. I found the "Armor" section.

I flipped through, and dogeared three pages, one with a buckler shield, another with a lower arm guard, and the final one with a mail shirt. "How about these?" I asked him.

He took the book, and flipped through. "Hmm, the buckler will be nine hundred, the shirt and arm guard come as a set for eleven hundred. I'll give them to you for seventeen, since you are buying multiple items"

I handed over two thousand, the full price. "Here, that's what they are worth"

"Nah man, I overprice everything" he said, giving me back the extra four hundred.

"In that case" I said, taking back the amount.

He brought the items out of a chest nearby, and gave them to me. I slipped the mail armor under my tunic, and felt the cool metal against my skin. I put the shield and arm guard inside my inventory.

The buckler was a wooden shield, three feet in diameter, with a 'boss', or small spike in the center. The outer edge was covered in a metal sheet, bolted into place. The arm guard was basically a cylinder, that clasps onto your sword-arm, and keeps someone else from hacking it off.

"Thanks" I said.

"Yo! Teika-kun!" I heard.

I turned, and saw Aoki and Silica coming in. I smiled. "Hey" I answered.

"We got food, and hp potions" said Silica, handing me some of the bottles of red liquid.

I nodded my thanks, and stowed them into my inventory. "Hey, Agil, are you going to the boss raid also?"

"Yeah, man. I wanna be a part of this first step, to show anyone can do it" he said, a stoic expression on his face.

I nodded solemnly. "Well, then I guess we should party up" I said.

"Actually, I already have three others. Hey, we can merge groups, if you want." He suggested.

Aoki shook her head, coming to my rescue. "Nah, thanks though. We know how we fight, we wouldn't want to have to learn your team's style so close to the big moment, or vice versa."

"It's cool man" he said, waving her off. "We all gotta do what we gotta do in here"

"Well, I think that concludes everything, we better be off" I said. "Got to get rested for the boss tomorrow"

"Yeah. See ya, man" he said, waving.

All of the inns inside Tolbana were booked and full, so, we sat inside Agil's shop's second floor.

I leaned against the wall with a sigh, and tried to get comfortable. I heard the sounds of the two girls climbing into the bed, and settling down as well.

'Why didn't Tohaku have his backup when we saved Silica?' I asked myself. He obviously had Miho and Mayoko stashed somewhere, but why?

Maybe they would have impeded the fight? No, Mayoko would have won it in an instant with her speed.

That's it. They would have turned against us at the drop of a hat. No, Tohaku has their unwavering loyalty. Then what is it?

Pondering these scenarios, and many more, I drifted to sleep.

I woke the next morning, with something on my chest. Opening my eyes slowly, I peeked. Sometime during the night, I must have lain down on the ground face up, because Silica had made herself quite at home, her head on my chest. I raised my free right hand, as her body was on my left, rubbed my face, trying to figure out why I woke. Checking my HUD, I saw the time was eight fourteen, with the boss Raid starting at noon.

I smiled at her, and stroked her head with my free hand. I could swear she started purring, and almost laughed at that. I heard her moan softly, and she moved a little. Raising her head, with her eyes half lidded, she looked at me.

"Hey" I said.

Her eyes shot open, and her face turned red. Jumping off of me, she started saying "I'm sorry!" over and over again, bowing deeply.

I stood up, rubbing the back of my head, embarrassed by the situation. "Hey, Silica?" I said.

She stayed parallel to the ground, and muttered "Yes?"

"I'm going to go ahead and tell you that I am American." I stated, dropping my hand beside me. "And in the land of the Arrogant Bastards, we are very lax about stuff like this"

She stood erect, and looked at me with fearful eyes, and a tomato colored face. "Sorry" she muttered, staring at the floor.

"Ugh." I said, slapping my face into my hand. "Also, is it ok with you if I leave honorifics off of your name?"

"Sure" she whispered.

"Also, you can look up at me" I smiled. "Whatever you are feeling right now, I am as well, just worse, 'cuz I am sure Aoki is awake right now, and is staring at us, wondering what I did to you"

"You know it" came a growl from the bed.

My insides felt like they were heating up to the temperature of the sun, but I tried to stay calm and cool.

"Anyone care to explain?" She said, glaring at me in a sitting position.

I grinned sheepishly. "Well…" I looked at Silica for permission.

She spoke "I…. I snuggled with him last night…. and I thought he didn't want that" she stared at the ground.

"Ugh" I repeated. "Again, please look up at me!"

She eased her face up, looking straight at me. "Sorry."

I smiled. "You shouldn't be sorry. I should be, I was very content at the time."

"You were?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Didn't I make that clear?" I barked out a laugh. "I guess not, because we haven't talked about 'us'" I gestured towards her, then I. I turned towards Aoki. "If there is anything you want to go and buy, now would be a good time"

She nodded, getting up, and walking out of the room.

"Hey! Get me a purple shirt!" I shouted.

"Ok!" Came the response.

I faced Silica, and sat on the bed, patting the spot next to me. She sat, and looked expectant.

"I think that the female should be the leader in this situation" I said, shaking my head. "Well," I reached out and placed a hand on hers, making her blush slightly. "I know we are from totally different cultures, and all of that bullshit, but I know you make me happy. I do not think I will be a good role model for you to look up to, but I think you feel the same about me, correct?"

She nodded.

"Good" I smiled thankfully. "Pardon my dictation, I am just unfamiliar with these kinds of situations." Taking a breath, I continued. "I felt at ease when I woke, and you were up against me. It was a feeling I was not used to, and that scared me for a brief moment, but I think that I would like it if you would do that more often"

Her eyes widened. "Are you sure?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yup. I am sure"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I was shoved onto my back. A small cry escaped my lips as surprise took hold, but I realized she had tackled me, hugging.

Her head was right beside mine. I felt the heat emanating from her.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" I said to her quietly. "Thanks"

"No. Thank you" she said, leaning away.

I posted, and pulled her back into the hug. "I really don't want to go and fight a boss right about now" I groaned.

"Promise me we will go on a date afterwards!" She said, pulling away in excitement.

"Sure"

 **But, first there is a boss to fight**


	26. Chapter 26-Kobold Part I

**hello again!**

 **i got WhiteEagle600 as my primary beta, so if you find any mistakes you can yell at him, and not Thunderwolf!**

 **thanks to Thunder for your wonderful service, but I want you to focus on your fic. I know that Beta-ing and Writing can be hard.**

 **to Failtastic- I found someone with as much of a life as I do to beta! You know how much of a life I have!**

 **to Gothgod- sorry I haven't used Wraith often, but I do have big plans for him!**

 **now onto the chapter...**

"You want to join my party?" Asked Kora to the white masked person in front of him.

The person nodded.

"Why? You should be able to find another group." He said.

The figure held up his hands, and signed "but I want to be in your group. Besides, I was thinking of joining the ALF anyways."

It was a good thing that Kora's wife had made him learn sign language, or he would have been screwed with this mute warrior. The captain sighed. "Fine, I will take you. I guess it was a good thing I split my group of eleven up anyways." Opening his menu, Kora sent the request for Wraith to be the sixth member of his party. Jax had the other six, as he was the second in command, being very loyal to Kora and what the ALF stood for.

"What's your name?" Asked the captain.

Wraith signed his name over to him, and received the request a moment later. After selecting the appropriate button, he saw the hp bars of the other five members appear below his. 'There. I will do something productive' he thought.

"How much longer before we set out for the boss?" He signed.

"We have…" Kora checked his HUD. "Two hours. You gonna get something done?"

Wraith nodded, and gestured to his katana, which he was meaning to replace with a slightly longer blade called an "okatana".

Kora nodded. "Be back in ninety minutes."

Wraith turned briskly, and walked out of the Black Iron Palace quickly, on his way to the famous Blacksmith.

"Hello!" Said the exuberant smith excitedly. "How may I help you today?"

Wraith brought out his menu, and pulled up the pm section. He typed "I want an okatana. Hopefully with a three and a half feet long blade"

She nodded. "Let's see…. I think I made one already" she fished through her inventory.

Bringing out a blade a little longer than the one he had, she asked "this good?"

Wraith inspected the curved surface with his eyes, liking what he saw. Nodding, Wraith dug in his inventory for a few coins.

"No need to pay! Agil, Teika, Aoki, Silica, Kora and Tohaku have promised to split the cost of everything!" She smiled. "They told me that anyone who comes up, asking for a weapon is likely a Clearer, and should be treated as royalty."

Blinking rapidly, he took the sword. 'Wow, that was nice of them' he thought. 'I cannot accept this' he pulled a few thousand col, and put them on the ground next to the smith.

"Hey, it's for free! Why are you dropping some money on the ground?" She asked, standing properly. Putting her hands on her hips, she frowned. "Someone else is trying to be generous, and you are being rude by not taking it!"

Wraith looked her in the eyes, and spoke. "I cannot accept others' charity."

He turned, and marched back to the Black Iron Palace.

Once back inside the Squad Room, he faced Kora. He then signed "what do I have to do to join the guild?"

"Hang on" said the captain. "Hey! Marcos, get off of Tor! Now!" He shook his head. "The others are a little too excited. Well, I guess I can just give you this and call you a part of my squad" Kora pulled a bandana out of his inventory, handing it to Wraith. "Don't care where you put it, just have it visible."

Wraith nodded, taking it, and tying the bandana around his sword sheath.

"Hey!" Called out Kora. "Line up for inspection!"

All eleven got in a straight line, including Wraith. He looked like an outsider, with the white cloak, and lack of armor.

"Lucy, where are you?" Asked Kora, looking around, since his headcount came up ten instead of eleven.

"Here!" She called, coming out of a door. She had on a bra, and underwear. On her side was a smallsword, the bandana on her head marked her as part of ALF Squad 13.

Someone whistled a cat-call to the scarcely clad female. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back as she walked with swaying hips.

"Lucy…" growled Kora.

"Yes?" She asked innocently.

"Why are you wearing that?" He asked tensely.

"Because, I don't think fighting naked would be a good idea" she said with a straight face.

"If you don't get a shirt and shorts on now, I will suspend you from the team" he threatened.

"Awww man!" She complained, with the squad also silently cursing their leader. She opened her menu, and pressed a few buttons, putting on vibrant clothes. "You're no fun" she complained.

He walked up and down the line, looking at his soldiers. Even Wraith seemed solemn, although, with that mask it was impossible to tell.

"We are going to take the first step towards carving out path out of here" he said. "We are going to fight to show the people stuck in here that we won't give up! We are going to win, and go to the next floor, and lead on! We are Squad Thirteen, and we are going to lead the way out of this hellhole!"

There was a cheer among the assembled crew; even Wraith clapped his gloved hands together at that.

They stood outside the large doors that spelled doom. The group was over fifty strong, with eleven of it being Squad Thirteen, and fifteen being from the HDA. The other thirty four were unaffiliated players, who just wanted to get out, including Agil, and Lis. Diavel was at the front of the panting group, his presence commanding.

"I am not great at speeches" he said. "But we are here, take a break. In ten minutes, we fight for the right to go to the next floor."

Everyone groaned in relief at his words, and slumped to the ground. Wraith walked around, politely (and silently) asking people to peek at their hp bars. If they weren't at full health, he whispered the words that would restore their life. They looked at him with amazement at this, and thanked him. It did save potions. He was happy, happy that he helped people.

After the ten minutes were up, Diavel took to the front again. "Now then, if my party, and Squad Thirteen of the Aincrad Liberation Force will please lead the way" he motioned to Kora. The ALF captain nodded, and sent a look to Jax, his second in command. Both marched forward, with their respective parties not far behind.

Wraith stood to the back left of Kora, at the end of the line. He felt anxiety build inside of him, not recognizing the feeling immediately. 'How long has it been?' He asked himself. 'Since I have had this bubbling inside, the tightening of the chest, the heart beating faster, and harder. I don't remember how long'.

The thirty foot tall black doors were thrown open by Kora and Diavel, and the large group made their way into the room. The ground was rectangular, twenty meters wide by one hundred meters long. There were pillars along the sides, each thicker than a tree, and extended to the lofted ceiling high above. Wraith noticed the walls were technicolored, giving a warped impression, as though time and space have different meanings here.

On the far end, was a…. thing on a throne. It stood up, and faced the advancing party. Its name was [Illfang the Kobold Lord]. The boss stood almost three meters tall, had a wolf's face, and glowing eyes. Its fur was red, and its frame was round, with no armor. A large leather wrapped shield appeared on one arm, with a tall bone-ax in the other. Both weapons were crude, but Wraith had no doubt that they would be effective.

All around him, little armored things spawned, labeled [Kobold Sentinel], each armed with a mace larger than a man's head. Then, the enemies ran at the players quickly.

"Tanks up front!" Shouted Diavel, as the mobs grew closer.

"Group E, take on the Sentinels!" Commanded Kora. Out of the corner of his eyes, Wraith noticed Teika, Aoki, and Silica run forward with Kibou and his party. They clashed with the Sentinels, and Illfang slammed into the Tanks, sending a few of them flying. The rest raised large shields, and got buffeted with attacks from the heavy ax in its hand.

"Let's go!" Yelled Kora at Wraith, as he and Diavel lead a charge right at Illfang, for the assault.

Wraith immediately ignored the command, and looked at the damaged tanks. "[Sana]" he whispered, and saw their hp rise. Nodding at his work, he looked at Kora and the rest of Squad 13. "[May the hand of my God bless them.]" came the incantation, and he saw Kora start to glow.

The commander smiled, and shouted "Ya think you're so tough, huh?" And run up to the boss. Illfang turned from its intended targets, and swung down vertically at Kora, who blocked the attack.

Wraith watched as the commander started to take on Illfang one on one, with mild success. Feeling weak, he kneeled. 'Wow, I have never used that spell before. Didn't know it would have this much impact'.

He felt a presence at his side. "How can you use magic? Aoki and Tohaku can't."

He looked up to see Teika's outstretched hand. Grasping it, and heaving himself to his feet, Wraith shrugged.

"Maybe it's because you don't have offense based magic…" he mused, however, he didn't have time to ponder this, as another wave of [Kobold Sentinel]s spawned. Smiling at the challenge, and ran forward, his ax cleaving through their ranks, and his buckler smashing them backwards.

Returning his attention back to Illfang, Wraith took in the status of the tanks. He saw the boost effect he used had worn off for Squad 13, and he didn't think he could use it again soon. Kora noticed his lack of strength, and backed off, allowing the tanks to resume their work of taking damage. Each time one of them was hit, Wraith muttered the healing spell, allowing the target to quickly get back into the fray.

"Damnit! Hey, Wraith! Two mobs coming your way!" Shouted Teika.

Wraith peeked that way, and sure enough, two Sentinels had busted through their defense, and were racing at the healer. He drew his okatana, glad for the chance to use it.

"[Obice]" [Barrier]. he muttered, and a wall of light stopped the first one's advance temporarily. Then, he ran to meet the other, his sword glowing ferociously. He used the skill [Quick Slash], which was, as the name suggests, a rapid cut. It did little damage, but had a high critical chance, and started a bleeding effect. The okatana sliced right through the plate mail armor, biting deep into the [Kobold Sentinel].

He then backflipped, right over it, and faced it. He brought his sword downwards, hacking off the arm with the mace. Once this happened, the other managed to go around the wall placed in front of it.

He dashed forward at it, leaping to the right as the mace was swung overhead at him. He ran right behind it, and used [Thrust] to shove his sword right through the chest of the Sentinel, piercing the heart. It died instantly.

He turned to the first one, but it too died from the bleeding effect.

Nodding with satisfaction, he sheathed his sword at his side.

Wraith looked back at the boss, and saw that it was at half of its second out of three ho bars. He cheered in his head, since it was already halfway dead. He saw some damaged people, and immediately healed them.

Kora approached with Squad 13. They were on break now, since using sword skills continuously really drained the body. "Was that you?" He asked. "That made me stronger and faster?"

Wraith nodded, still keeping the majority of his attention on the battle.

"Well, damn. It's nice to know that we have a Mage in Squad 13" he said appreciatively.

He looked in the same direction as Wraith. "Everything sure is going great. Almost too easily…"

'Damnit. He had to say it' thought the katana wielder.

 **He had to say it. Now everyone is dead!**

 **of you are reading Failtastic's "Sun Dancer", then make sure you threaten him with Bacon Nukes to post!**

 **please leave your thoughts, comment, concerns, questions, or hatemail in the review box!**


	27. Chapter 27-Kobold Part II

**thanks to everyone helping out!**

My axe cleaved right through another [Kobold Sentinel], and it exploded into little blue lights. Lis had repaired my weapon to top condition, and even enhanced it with increased [Sharpness], so it ignored a portion of my enemy's defense stat.

We had a few minutes before more Sentinels spawned, so I took a look at the boss fight.

The assault team was busy hacking away while the tanks took damage, and Wraith was healing everyone. I still didn't understand how he could use magic, but I wasn't going to argue. [Illfang the Kobold Lord] was down to the last half of his final hp bar. We were all told in the boss briefing that when Illfang reached the final third, he would throw away his ax and shield in favor of a talwar sword, which was weighted and meant for cavalry use.

I snapped out of my thoughts when the boss roared. It leapt away from the mass of players, and dropped what it was holding. Illfang then drew out a long black sword from a scabbard at his side. The blade glinted, and something about it seemed off.

It came to me. "Damnit! That isn't a talwar! That's an odachi!" I said.

The sword Illfang was using was as long as it was tall, and not very wide. Much longer than a talwar, which was about four feet long by human standards.

The Kobold Lord then jumped high into the air, bouncing around on pillars, keeping everyone's attention. Dazed at the spectacle, there wasn't a single person who was ready for what came next.

It landed right in front of Diavel, who raised his shield to block. Illfang slashed horizontally, sending the knight flying. I heard a crunch as he made contact with a pillar. I glanced to see Wraith already running towards the fallen man.

Illfang had already gotten three more casualties. The tanks were trying to no avail to get the boss' attention, while the assault team was getting pounded.

I withdrew a hatchet, and took aim, sending the blade overhand. It stayed true to my aim, and hit Illfang right between the eyes. It stopped fighting, and jumped… right in front of me.

'Damnit, what did I just do?' I thought.

It roared, and swung the giant blade straight down. I tensed my whole body with my buckler over my head, stopping the strike, but driven to a knee. The force kept comming, and my other knee hit the ground. I felt the shield start to give way as the force from the massive odachi nearly broke me. But I am a little harder to kill than that.

"Silica! Aoki! Now!" I barked out three words.

I heard Silica yell as the leapt at Illfang, and must have sliced him pretty good because his sword was lifted, with my shield still attached.

My eyes widened in fear as I was brought off of the ground by the boss. My free hand struggled with the buckler's clasp, trying to release it.

Illfang noticed his sword was dug into my shield, and I was dangling in front of him like bait before a donkey, and Illfang was one big donkey.

It grinned sadistically, and prepared to swipe at me with its other hand. My right one was working furiously at the straps on my arm. 'Shit' I thought, as I saw its arm start to swing.

"Rrraaaaa!" Came a yell, and Kora jumped in the way, slicing the hand that threatened me. I felt relieved at the moment longer I had to try and unbuckle myself. It wouldn't come loose! I looked below me, and saw all of my weapons on the ground below, so I couldn't cut it.

I felt the weight on my arm increase as someone wrapped their arms around me.

"Ouch!" I said as I felt my arm try and get pulled out of its socket.

"Sorry!" Exclaimed Silica, as she climbed up me, and pulled out her knife. I wrapped an arm around her to hold her up while she cut the buckle.

I heard a snap as she sawed, and then the weight on my limb released. 'Uh oh' I thought as I started to fall.

I rolled under Silica, and felt the ground slam into me. The wind left my body, and Silica bounced out of my arms.

I struggled to my feet, and saw Illfang inspecting the shield, noticing its victim was gone. It looked past the shield, and saw me. I ran to my axes a few meters away. Lifting the hatchet, I threw it right at the boss, it also ramming into its head.

"Hey! Bitch!" I shouted. What? It wasn't wrong! We don't know the things' gender, just because we assume it's male doesn't mean jack. It might be transgender.

It growled deep, and I could swear I almost wet myself at the noise.

"What? Don't like that one?" I asked, readying my battle ax.

Pissing off the giant boss with a reach longer than my body, good idea Teika!

"What the hell are you doing?" Demanded Aoki from my left.

"Distracting it, don't worry, I am a little hard to kill" I answered. Then, I called out to the Assault Team. "Hey, while this thing is trying to kill me, how about you finish it?"

"On it!" Shouted Kora. "Squad Thirteen! Charge!"

I screamed as I ran forward, trailing the ax slightly. The boss swung the odachi overhead, right at me. With no shield, I was lighter, and leapt away, and then on top of the longsword. I nimbly ran up it, shouting "Hello!" As I jumped at it from the hilt.

It's other hand smacked me out of the air, and I hit a pillar, hearing a loud snap. My vision temporarily went fuzzy as the contact stunned me.

I tried to stand, and shake my head, but my body didn't respond. Text scrolled across my blurred vision, saying "Your spine is broken. Paralysis in effect until healed.".

'Well, that sucks' I thought. My vision cleared, and I looked to see Illfang approaching, and none of the Assault Team around to attack.

"Would you like some help, mon ami?" Asked someone with a thick accent.

I couldn't open my mouth to speak, or nod; all I could do was sit there, and watch.

"I will take your silence as a 'oui'" said Tohaku, my mind translating 'oui' to 'yes' from French.

"Magic isn't everything in this game" he said, stepping over me carefully, and standing in front of me.

'Where were you five minutes ago?' I thought.

"But, it does come in handy when you learn how to use it" he said. "[Arcticum Venti]" arctic wind.

I felt a huge vacuum in the room, as the pressure dropped. Then, the temperature went. It was like a tornado made of snow was unleashed within the confines of the boss room, sending ice particles in every direction. I was quickly blanketed in snow,

Tohaku stood firm as the boss raised an arm to protect its eyes. It took a step back as the gale forced it back, and another step. And another.

Soon, the wind stopped, and a winter wonderland was revealed, as the rectangular room was covered in fine white powder. The boss had many scars on it, and its health was near depleted. I didn't see anybody in the room.

Tohaku turned to me. "The rest is up to you" he said. He took out a hp potion, and knelt, pouring its contents in my mouth.

I saw my drained health rise, and the paralysis effect leave. I stood, looking at the teen. "Thank you" I said curtly, still not a fan of him.

"Adieu" he said, bowing. He then walked behind a pillar and out of my sight. "Teika-kun!" Shouted someone. I looked in that direction to see Silica standing out of the snow. "Are you ok?"

She ran up to me. "Yeah." I said. "But I am pissed"

"Well, I think the boss isn't stunned anymore" came another voice. "Should we kill it?"

Aoki stood at my other side, shivering slightly.

"Squad Thirteen!" Came Kora's voice. "Status report!"

"Here" came a voice, and nine variations, some involving swear words, and one being clapping.

He walked next to me. "Well, you want the kill?" He asked.

"Nah" I said, putting the ax on my back. "You take it"

He nodded. He then faced behind me. "Wraith! Take it out"

I saw a blur zip forward, an okatana unsheathed.

Illfang did not take lightly to being charged by a little runt, and tried to slice it. But Wraith was to quick, jumping forward, and over the slicing blade, creating cuts of his own on the exposed arm. Wraith then leapt into the air, and cut off Illfang's head.

The boss froze as the white cloaked figure landed on the ground. After it exploded into little pieces. I heard a shout.

"Hey!" Came a familiar annoying voice. I looked to see many others were now standing.

Kibou was in front of them, pointing a finger at Wraith. "You took our kill!"

"It wasn't your kill. It was either take it out, or someone else would. It doesn't matter who got it" defended Kora.

"Yes it does" came another voice. I turned to see a person wearing the armor of the HDA. He looked strangely familiar.

"Shut it, Jorn" said Kora. "You're just pissed that one of the Mages got the bonus"

"And you're not?" He demanded, taking off his helmet. "We should be stopping them, and detaining them! Forcing them to work for the people!"

"No, they are people too!" I said, stepping forward. "If you dare lay a hand on Aoki, I will hack you up finer than Illfang"

"And that's just because you're in bed with her" he taunted, taking a step forward.

I felt a heat inside me that was ready to explode. Suppressing that anger, I smiled.

"Uh oh" whispered Aoki. "I know that smile."

"So" I started slowly. "Let me get this right. You want to imprison your fellow humans, in a game where everyone is trying to get out alive?"

"No, I am trying to get us out faster!" He exclaimed.

"No you're not. By keeping them locked up, they can't fight, train, gain xp, get stronger." I said, taking menacing steps forward. "By doing that, you are slowing down our progress" the last part was a growl as I was in his face. "All of you damn hypocrites piss me off"

"You don't understand" he said.

I interrupted. "No, you don't, but I have been taught that you cannot win an argument with someone who is too idiotic to see beyond themselves." I spun on my heel, and marched away.

* * *

Tohaku watched the exchange silently, but he was smiling. 'That Stephen. Always so proud' he thought to himself.

He spun around, and motioned to Miho and Mayoko in a corner. They ran up to him. "Ya?" Asked Mayoko.

"I think it is time to leave" responded Tohaku. He saw a door on the other side of the room, behind Illfang's throne. He quickly made his way over to it, and walked out, with his companions in tow.

Once out, he smelled the fresh air, wind blowing his blonde hair out of his face. There were mountains in the distance, and plateaus scattered across the floor. The grassland was expansive, with a large savanna dominating the floor. He quickly saw the main town on this floor, called Urbus. He started walking in that direction.

The town was on a plateau, with a crater. The city resided within this crater, and it had gates on the outside, probably to keep mobs out,

He made it to the town center, where he found his target. It was the Teleport Gate.

The Gate looked like an archway, neatly made. It was dark, and gray. Not activated yet. Tohaku approached, and touched a smooth stone, activating the Gate.

"Now, people will start coming to this floor" he said. The stones started changing color, turning from gray to an off-white. Then, the space between the pillars of the archway became distorted, and blurry. Then, a blue light descended on the gate, as the portal activated.

"There" he said, turning. "Now to find something to eat."


	28. Chapter 28-Being Forceful

**sorry I have been mia for a little while, been really busy with the end of the school year and all that crap.**

 **Failtastic Belt just finished his first book, Sun Dancer, which is the first in a series!**

 **Thanks to WhiteEagle600 for proofreading, and finding 60 mistakes in my first twenty four chapters.**

 **if you see something either WhiteEagle or myself missed, then please call it out**

Kora sat in his office, filling out some paperwork for the Guild Leader. Sure, they still weren't an official Guild, but when they reached Floor Three, then it would happen. He would be an official Captain for the Aincrad Liberation Force Squad Thirteen. He was in the Floor Two Outpost, a building claimed by the ALF right after the defeat of the First Floor Boss.

He rubbed his weary eyes, nearly finished with the mound of work assigned to him. Squad Thirteen has been assigned to Clearing, doing their absolute best to getting the hell out of here. At the moment, he was given a small order to fight through a dungeon, and get the items in there, which were supposedly books with smithing techniques to be given to Lis upon completion. He smiled at the thought of the pink haired smith. 'If she didn't upgrade our stuff, we wouldn't have survived the first floor. She deserves our help' he thought.

He filled out the required sections of the sheet before him, and stood, stretching. Looking at his HUD, he noticed the time was 3:22 am. 'Great' he thought. 'I get little time for sleep before our second attempt at the dungeon'. He walked around his desk, and sat on the cot in his office. Laying down, he groaned his relief as the weight left his legs.

Kora's body loosened as he lay there, preparing for sleep. 'Damn, life sucks now' he thought as his conciseness drifted. 'Thought it woulda gotten easier, since we were the Squad that actually fought Illfang'. Sighing, he fell asleep.

(Scene change)

"You have to be kidding me!" Shouted Aoki as she ran from a [Lesser Taurus Striker], one of the floor mobs here. "Get this thing off my ass!"

Teika appeared in front of her, his new shield raised to cover her as she ducked behind him. Since the first floor boss ruined his shield after one hit, he had to get another, this one made of steel.

The Striker raised a man sized hammer, and swung down, hitting the round metal plate, causing Teika to grimace as he was forced to dig his heels into the ground. A massive dent resided in the center of the shield.

"Hey! Get off of Teika-kun!" Shouted Silica as she chuckled a few shuriken at the mob. The little stars hit the tough skin, and bounced right off, doing no damage. All she did was manage to aggro the mob.

Teika nearly collapsed forward as the hammer left the shield, causing him to stumble.

Without missing a beat, he dashed forward, ripping a tomahawk off of his leg. He believed that since these were much heavier than shurikens, they would actually have an effect. Raising his arm overhead, he released the throwing ax, sending it at the mob.

His aim was true, and the Taurus stopped moving as it had a shaft sticking out of its fur.

It turned, huffing out a breath. It's brown fur seemed to tremble as it angered quickly. Aoki saw it was about to charge, and held out her hand. "[Ignum Meis]!" She shouted.

"No!" Shouted Teika, as he dodged to the side of the labyrinth. The walls were tall, and made of the same stone as the first floor's labyrinth.

The Taurus blew past him, charging while swinging the hammer.

After the giant bull-thing tripped, Teika rushed forward, bringing his ax straight down on its neck.

The ax made contact, severing the head from the rest of the body, killing it instantly.

After the blue particles disappeared, Teika knelt, huffing from exertion.

"Did I do something wrong?" Asked Aoki as she approached.

He stood, leaning on his battle ax. "No, I just want Silica and I to level up. Besides, we still haven't figured out how to use magic in these damned things" he gestured to the labyrinth walls. "Tohaku won't tell us anything, and we are the ones trying to get him out of here!"

He sighed, and sat down, the respawn times being fairly long for these stronger mobs, allowing for rests in between fights.

"Well…. I was able to activate my powers!" Said the girl confidently. She checked a timer underneath her hp bar, which told her that her powers would remain active for another five minutes. "Hell, [Augue]!" She did the motion required for a fireball, but nothing happened. "Damnit!"

She plopped in the ground next to him, and sighed. "Well, it was worth a try"

Silica walked over, and sat next to Teika, on his other side. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing" came his immediate answer. Standing, he looked resolute. "We better get ready for the next Striker"

Aoki watched her two friends down potions. 'What is going through your head?' She asked herself.

One after another, Silica and Teika took down the mobs, with Teika tanking and dishing damage, and Silica using sneak attacks. The object was to get it on the ground where one of them would finish it off quickly. It was fairly efficient.

"What?" Demanded Teika a while later. "Five thousand col to stay the night?" He slammed his hands on the bartop in front of him. The npc shook her head.

"If you think yelling at me is going to change anything, you better leave" she said. "It's either pay, or don't sleep in the best bed on the floor!"

Aoki reached a hand out, and grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, we've slept in trees before, it doesn't matter where we decide to rest"

He still seemed ready to take the bartender's head off, so she tried pulling him gently. "Besides, we could sleep beneath the stars!" She said, trying to drag him out of the building.

He relented, and followed her outside with Silica in tow. Walking out of the main settlement of Urbus, they found a prairie not inhabited by mobs.

Aoki spread her arms, and fell backwards, falling on the tall grass with a thud. "Ugh" she grunted. "Much better than a tree"

She heard two similar thuds next to her, and knew that Silica and Teika also fell over.

"I bought some steak" said Teika. "It's supposedly really well seasoned, it's just raw."

Aoki smiled. "I'm guessing you want me to cook it?" She asked.

"Well, yeah" came the sheepish reply. Sitting up, Aoki looked at him.

"Sure" she said with a confident smile. "We all know that your Cooking Skill rivals Silica's str stat!"

"Hey!" Came a shout from the little girl a meter or so away. "I am strong in my own way!"

Aoki snickered. "Your chest says otherwise"

Teika sat up. "Not cool" he said, frowning. "You two shouldn't fight"

"Oh, don't act like you don't think it's funny!" laughed Aoki.

Teika sighed. "Ugh, sometimes I wonder why I ever agreed to be your friend."

"Because you love my looks, charm, and badassery!" Aoki pumped her fist in the cool air.

"'Badassery' isn't even a word" he said with a bland expression.

"Can we just get dinner ready?" Asked Silica, also sitting.

"Ffffiiiinnnnneeeee" groaned Aoki, taking the meat from Teika's extended hand. "I'll get something grilled up."

She shot a small fireball at the ground, causing a miniature campfire. Using her will, she kept the fire from burning everything down, and instead rigged a spit with some sticks in her inventory. After a few minutes, she had three [Trembling Cow] steaks sizzling away.

All three sat in silence as the meat cooked, and after a certain amount of time progressed, Aoki took them off the spit, extinguishing the fire.

"Here we go! Piping hot Cow Steaks!" She exclaimed, handing out the slabs.

Teika grabbed his, and bit into it, not caring for the heat.

"Manners!" Shouted Aoki and Silica in unison.

"Oh, yeah" he said, swallowing. "Itadakimasu?".

Both girls shot him a dirty look, and then repeated the word. The meat had a spicy kick to it, as though someone had rubbed in a little siracha. Aoki, having very very high heat tolerance, loved it, while Silica sat there, face red.

"Are you ok?" Asked the older girl to the younger.

"Yup!" She exclaimed.

Aoki wasn't convinced. "You almost look like you are breathing fire" she said with a smirk. "Is it too hot?"

"No!" She squeaked. "It's perfect!"

Aoki laughed a little, and finished her steak. Teika also was used to the spicy food Aoki would give him IRL, so in game, this was nothing. After munching down repeatedly, he said around the food "Wow, this is cooked perfectly!".

"You think flattery will get you anything?" Asked Aoki.

"If I was trying to flatter you, I could do better. I was being honest" he said with a sincere smile. He rubbed his hands briskly on his pants. "Sometimes, I wonder what I would do without you at my side".

Aoki blushed slightly at the comment. "Well, if that is how you feel, I am glad." She turned away. 'What the hell?' She thought. 'Why does he have to say the weirdest things?' She sighed. 'If only I knew how he felt towards me…'

"Earth to Aoki, Earth to Aoki, this is Houston, over" said Teika.

"Oh, sorry" she answered, shaking her head. "Did you ask something?"

"Yeah, should I get some sleeping bags before we sleep. It can get cold in the savanna at night" he said, looking to the setting sun.

"No need" said Silica. She opened her inventory, and two six foot sleeping bags materialized. "I already got some!"

Aoki blinked rapidly. Before she could state the obvious, Teika did. "Umm, Silica…. there are two bags" he said slowly.

Her face turned a slight shade of pink. "Uh huh" she answered nodding.

"And there are three of us" he went on.

"Uh huh" she nodded again.

"Should I go by another?" He asked, frowning slightly.

"Nope" came her response.

"You and Aoki gonna share?" He asked slowly, realization dawning on him.

"Nuh uh" she smirked slightly, her face turning bright red.

"Umm…. should I sleep without one?" He asked timidly.

"Nuh uh" she shook her head. "And not with Aoki either!"

Aoki saw Teika gulp. His brow furrowed as he tried to think a way out of this situation. Silica licked her lips nervously, and continued. "You wanted to make things official between us, and you haven't done anything since you said that and I thought this was a perfect opportunity for us to get close and-"

Teika cut off her rambling. "Yeah, I did say that but-" he started.

Silica's eyebrows raised. "Did you lie to me?" Her voice was deadly and calm.

Teika sat up straight, fear running through his eyes. "No, but-"

"Then there is no problem!" She exclaimed, slipping into the black bag. She gave an innocent smile, and patted the bag. "You coming?"

Teika faced Aoki, and asked "What did I get myself into?" In English.

Aoki laughed, and said back "This is called a relationship" in the western language so Silica wouldn't understand.

"What are you two talking about?" She asked, suddenly a little frustrated.

Teika snapped his attention back to the girl in the bag. "Just asking for her to save me" he answered.

"Ha! What did she respond with?" Laughed Silica.

"She said that I got myself into this mess and now I have to deal with it." He said.

"That you do!" Exclaimed Aoki in Japanese, clapping. "That you do!"

(Scene change)

Kora stood behind his men as they fought a [Lesser Taurus Striker]. It's hammer was wrecking the tanks, each hit sending someone into the yellow. He grimaced as another crack was heard, sending a tank flying into the wall. He wasn't going to interfere unless he absolutely had to, since his level was higher than theirs, but he still hated the sound of his men getting hit.

Lucy stood to his right, watching also. She to was much stronger than the others, and this was a leveling mission, trying to make the Squad worthy of fighting the next boss. She had a hand tightly clasped on her shortsword handle, knuckles white as she held in the urge to rush forward and wreck the Striker.

Wraith stood to his left, whispering healing spells, defensive spells, and a new spell he found that boosted the xp gained when a mob was killed. The chant was lengthy, and he was halfway through it, but thankfully the Striker was hard to beat. He too, was restraining himself from attacking and finishing the mob off.

"Assault team!" Shouted Kora. "Get in there! Get your hands dirty! You can't beat this game by wimping out!"

The three damage dealers hesitated, not wanting to draw the attention of the Striker, lest it decide they would make a good meal.

Kora ran forward, pushing two of them at the mob. "I said to get in there!".

The two immediately turned to run, but he flicked his wrist, his broadsword being summoned to his hands by [Hot Wave]. "Fight" he growled.

The three men faced the Striker, and started attacking it, dealing some damage, but not much.

'These wusses got girly as soon as we started grinding in the labyrinth' thought the commander. 'I might ask Commander Kibaou for a few replacements…'

Kibou recently joined the Army, rising in ranks quickly. He was known for his hate of betas, but what he hated more were people opposed to getting out of the game, which made the HDA his enemy.

'Nah, a team works best if the people know each other' he decided.

After a few more minutes of fighting, the Taurus was killed, blue light floating away. The team sunk to the floor, mentally exhausted from the continuous use of sword skills.

Wraith walked around the men, muttering healing spells of varying degrees, to heal wounds of varying degrees.

Kora looked at the men, most of them now in the double digits level-wise. 'Now that Wraith has joined us, we can be more bold with our grinding ventures' he thought. 'It's nice to have a healer who can stand back, safely strengthening the others.'

"Yo, Kora-kun!" Came Lucy's voice. "The next mob is going to spawn soon, should we stay and fight it?"

He had made her the second in command, since the men respected her, and listened to her. "Yeah" he said. "One more, then we go back"

They had killed four of the Strikers so far, and the light was starting to fade outside the labyrinth.

He checked his HUD, and saw the time was eight thirty two pm. He nodded. 'Won't be too long before someone finds the Boss Room. Not long now'

 **Yes, I made Silica definitely ooc. If it's too much, I would love to know.**


	29. Chapter 29-New Information

**Sorry for the delay peeps! I have had exams to study for, and now marching band to fight through.**

 **thanks to my fabulous reviewers, Failtastic, Thunderwolf, and occasionally Gothgod. If you want your username up here, then review!**

 **also, whoever Guest is, thanks for everything!**

 **btw, Failtastic has his first chapter for his second book out, Demon Slayer: Souls of Fire! I recommend it as a read! But check out his first one before, Demon Slayer: Sun Dancer.**

 **now onto the chapter:**

Tohaku listened as a certain famous information broker spoke to him, giving him the scoop on the current events.

"Let's see, half of the labyrinth has been explored, with ALF's Squad Thirteen in the lead over the HDA's Squad Two. Wraith is still with them, allowing for the squad to fight harder mobs, and level up faster than any other group." Said Argo over a glass cup. She took a swig before continuing.

"How can you drink that?" Asked the ice Mage, referring to the dark colored drink within the cup The Rat had in her hand.

"I live on coffee" she said. "I am pretty much addicted to it"

Tohaku shook his head. Argo was the only person who made him feel like he wasn't in complete control. She was very unpredictable. Too unpredictable.

"I want the other half before I finish" she demanded. "I gave you half of what you want, so I want the last half of the money before I finish talking"

Tohaku thought for a moment. His eyes wandered around the tavern. The only other things here were two npcs: the bartender, and a drunkard.

"Fine" he pretended to be annoyed at this, pulling out another bag of coins. The sack was passed to Argo, who placed it in her inventory. "Now, Teika." He said.

He saw her mouth smile, the painted-on whiskers twitching with the movement. "Fine then. But first, I want something to eat!"

"Fine, get yourself something. You have money, and I cannot stop you" Tohaku placed his chin in his hand, and elbow on the table.

Her smirk deepened. "You're buying"

Tohaku stared at her. "No, I am not" he said slowly.

"Why?" Demanded the teenager. "You have little need for the money since you never use weapons or armor!"

"I still have to pay the high price of an inn!" He said, sitting straight up.

"Do what a Teika does!" Said Argo.

"And sleep outside where I can easily be killed by some Holy Dragon Alliance goons? No thank you" he shook his head. His shoulders raised with a sigh.

If someone looked at the two sharing a quiet conversation, they would have been instantly suspicious. Both were wearing black cloaks, with the cowl pulled over their head. For Tohaku, this was for personal security. Meeting in a city was dangerous with the Alliance thinking they own everything. For Argo, this was to keep people from knowing it was her that met him. She knew the kind of rumors that would spread, and she didn't want them around.

"I am sure your companions can cover the cost!" She smiled mischievously. "Easily cover it!"

"You are one stubborn bitch, you know that?" Tohaku said, extremely annoyed at her antics.

"Hey now! Insulting me makes me want to dish out faulty info!" She was beaming, her grin spreading from ear to ear.

"Doesn't make what I said any more incorrect" he said. "No more than one hundred col"

Give or take sixty minutes later, Tohaku looked at the bill, handed to him by the npc. Even after Argo used a Half Off Coupon, it still totaled north of one hundred twenty col.

His eyes widened at the amount requested. "How can you eat that much?" He asked.

"Easily." She said. "In this game, I don't have to Calorie Count!" She laughed. "Pay up Tohaku-san, or they won't let you leave!"

He payed, grumbling the whole time. "Now that you are sated, tell me what is happening with Teika."

She tilted her head. "Why are you so interested in him?" She asked.

Tohaku leaned back, prepared for this question. He gave his planned response. "Because I am keeping tabs on Aoki. Wherever he goes, she goes."

"But why not ask about Aoki then?" She asked.

"I want to know what the whole group is doing, but more specifically how he is leading them" came the answer immediately.

"You do realize I can tell when you are lying, right?" She said.

Tohaku kept his voice leveled, even when his heart started beating faster. "And what if I am not lying?"

"You are." She said. "You are. What do you want to know?"

Tohaku leaned forward dramatically. "Everything."

* * *

Wraith was exploring his Magic List. He does this every now and then, to memorize useful spells that will help out the Squad. He scrolled, seeing various HP Spells, and Status Healers that would affect slightly differently. A few even boosted stats, allowing for str types to gain speed, and agi types to gain strength. Dexterity types would have boosted dex, and defense would gain vitality, and vice-versa.

He scrolled through, quickly memorizing incantations for some of these. Since Squad Thirteen was high in agi and dps types, he stored those in his memory first that would have the greatest effect on them.

He reached the bottom of the list. Each day, the list grew as what he dubbed his [Magic Skill] or [MS] grew. He learned quickly that the more he used his Magic, the more the list grew, but the more exhausted he became. After one intense fight, he was left useless for two days. That was one tough Field Boss. He was forced to recite healing spelles back to back to keep the Squad from getting obliterated. He was rightfully tired.

The second to last item he unlocked yesterday, it was a new Healing spell that increased defense temporarily as well. Pretty useful.

'So the list only grew by one item?' He thought. 'Well, that figures. I guess the [MS] is like every other skill, that it takes more and more to level up the higher it gets'. Wraith had yet to find a number in his menu that told him what level his Magic was, but he was pretty determined.

He was about to close the list, when the last one caught his eye. It was called [Familiar], and had no status increases or hp revives, or anything next to it. Puzzled, Wraith tapped it, and read the description.

His eyes widened at it behind his white mask. 'This…. will turn the tide of everything!' He thought.

He stood up, and left the Sleeping Quarters, and quickly made his way to Kora's office.

He rapped his gloved knuckles on the door aggressively.

"Gods! What in hell is important enough for whoever you are to try and break the door?!" Came the annoyed yell from inside. "Come in!"

Wraith threw open the wooden door, and stormed inside.

"What has gotten into you, Wraith?" Asked the captain at the unusual activity from his subordinate.

Wraith quickly opened his menu, and Magic List. He twirled his finger to spin the menu, and showed his commanding officer.

"What is this? [Familiar]?" He asked Wraith from across the desk.

Wraith nodded quickly, and pushed the menu towards him, prompting him the read on.

"Fine." He said. "'The caster placed a spell upon his person of choice granting him similar powers to that of the caster. The Chosen Person can decline the power, but if accepted, then they will be charged with protecting the caster, for if the caster dies, so does the familiar.'"

His eyes widened. "Wait… this means…"

Wraith nodded.

"Wow, with this, we will be able to guarantee the Alliance won't get to the Boss Room, and hog it!" He stood up rapidly, slamming his hands on the oak desk in front of him, piled with papers. "If you would like my input-"

Wraith shook his head. He then signed "I already know the best choice. Lucy"

Kora took a moment to read the hand signs, and smiled. "I was gonna say that."

Wraith started a pm to be sent to the female fighter, but Kora shook his head at the motion, guessing the silent person's thoughts. "She is here, actually. Binge eating in the Mess Hall."

Wraith nodded, and walked out of the office, taking an immediate left turn. He opened a door labeled the appropriate room. He found Lucy sitting there with five empty plates in front of her, and another with six slices of pizza. Ignoring the fact she had pizza in a medieval game.

She looked up, after stuffing a whole six inch long slice in her mouth, filling her cheeks.

"'Ey 'aih" she said around the food. "Ooh, orry. Iie a oe"

She swallowed. "Sorry. What's up?"

He pointed at her, and then at the Squad Room, the only one big enough for the ritual required.

"You want me to go into the Squad Room?" She asked.

Wraith nodded rapidly; glad she understood his silent commands.

"What for?" She wondered out loud.

He shook his head, and waved her towards the room. He then turned away, and walked.

"Hey! Wait up!" She demanded, so he slowed his pace.

They walked through the door, and into the room. The pool tables pushed against a wall (and again, Wraith ignored the fact pool was in a medieval game), along with the blackjack tables, and others.

Kora was already in the room, and a pentagram painted on the ground. It was in black, standing out on the wooden floor. A candle sat at each point of the star, a flame burning on each white wax column.

"What the-" said Lucy. "What is this?"

"A spell" said Kora. "While Wraith was hauling your lazy ass in here, I found the materials necessary for the ritual."

"What ritual?" She asked, hands on her hips. She had on a green shirt and shorts, the shirt stained with some tomato sauce.

Wraith smiled behind the white mask. Kora spoke for him. "One that will give you strength beyond what any other person can."

She seemed interested. "I am listening… what do I have to do?"

"Stand in the pentagram" came the command.

She shivered. "Are you sure I should stand in the middle of the satanic sacrificing star of evil?"

Wraith nodded.

"Well, ok" she walked carefully into it. "Now what?"

"Now, I chant" said Wraith.

* * *

I sat in front of my computer screen, typing furiously. The School System had changed the password into the Online Gradebook, and I was trying to hack in to get Natsuki to pass. She was failing everything, and the Final Grades locked at midnight. It was currently eleven forty nine pm.

"Scas. I want you to take over for a moment" I said.

"On it bossman" came the electronic reply. "Approximate time remaining until hacking successful, seven minutes."

"Ok" I responded, rubbing my weary eyes. 'The things I do for Natsuki… she better be grateful!'

I plopped on my bed, and stared at the purple ceiling. It was coming up on the second trimester of school, and if she failed this one, she would have to spend every afternoon and weekend taking remedial classes. Instead, if I raised her grades, she would be able to hang out with me.

I sat up quickly. 'Hang out?' I thought. 'Why would I want to spend more time than absolutely necessary with another person?'

"Idiot" came a familiar singsong voice. A blonde teen sat beside me, smiling tauntingly. "You are getting feelings for her. Friendly feelings. The feelings one gets when they actually like other people, and not just as tools"

My eyes blinked rapidly. "I refuse to believe that. I am driven by efficiency, and it would be inefficient to want to spend time with people" I said.

Nancy smiled. "That is how you should think, but that's not how you are thinking."

"Although, she is nice…" Stephen trailed off. "I guess I wouldn't mind getting accused of inefficiency if she is involved…"

"But why would that be? Are you developing other feelings for her?" the Blonde raised her eyebrows.

I shook his head quickly. "No. I will not go that far."

"Hacking complete" said Scas. "Set all grades to Passing?"

"Yeah" I said. "All of them that need it"

"Then why are you doing this for her?" Asked Nancy. "Why are you making sure you can spend more time with her?"

"Because" I started. I looked out the window to the dark outside. I saw raindrops hit the glass pane, causing a pitter-patter sound to drone on. I was reminded of a time when Natsuki and I were outside, just sitting in the park, and talking about video games she was introducing me to. All of a sudden it started to rain, heavily, causing the both of us to get really wet really fast. She led me into a shop, nearly dragging me she ran so fast.

"Hey!" I had called out.

"Hurry, we don't want our phones to get wet!" She had yelled back at us.

When the bell tinkled signaling out entering, and elderly man came forward. "May I help you?"

"Nah, just getting out of the storm" she answered.

We were inside a small store, with aisles of knickknacks, and magicians' items, like a top hat, or a box with a mirror inside.

"Ok, stay as long as you like" he said, walking away.

"Umm, Natsuki?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah" she turned back to me.

"You can let go of my hand" I said, looking down to out intertwined fingers.

"Sorry!" She flung her hand off of mine, blushing.

I looked outside, at the downpour. "I hate the rain. It's so cold, and harsh."

"Well I like it" came her response. "It's calming, and gives life back to the world"

She clasped her hands behind her back. "Without it, we wouldn't be able to live."

I shook my head, clearing the memory from my mind.

"You care about her" sighed Nancy. "And I guess I cannot stop it".

I looked at her. "You think I actually do care for her?"

"It's obvious; I just hope it doesn't go further." She said.

* * *

I stared at Silica in surprise. "Are you or Aoki gonna go without?"

She looked like she was starting to get annoyed. "Come on! Don't you wanna sleep with me?"

I looked up at the stars on the sky. "it's not that I don't want to-" I started.

"So do it!" She commanded. "What is holding you back?"

I lowered my gaze, and looked over her shoulder at a certain blonde girl standing a ways off, hands on her hips. "I just don't want to hurt you or anything" I said, focusing on Silica's eyes.

"You won't hurt me!" She said. "I know it!"

I looked down. 'How do I tell them I am being pushed by my own thoughts?'

I felt arms wrap around me. "Don't worry. This will be good for us" I felt her great tickle my ear. Her hand gently pushed my head down on her shoulder, and stroked my hair soothingly. "I know it"

"I hate this" I grumbled halfheartedly.

"That's why I do it" she whispered.

"Ah-hem!" Exclaimed Aoki. "Unless you want me to record this to post online irl, keep it pg-13!"

 **A little longer than normal, but at least it (hopefully) makes up for the time I have taken off!**


	30. Chapter 30-Does He?

**and another chapter!**

 **shoutout to everyone who lends an ear to read this thing! And to my spectacular reviewers, who are always helping me grow!**

"That sleeping bag is a little too small for two to sleep inside comfortably" I reasoned, gesturing to the black sack beside the flickering firelight.

"We are small enough" reasoned the persistent little girl.

'Damn it, damn SAO, damn life!' I thought. 'How to get out of this?'

"Well, I guess you're right…" she said, glancing at it.

She looked at me, and sweeped a few strands of hair out of my face. "I guess we can snuggle without it."

I blinked repeatedly. 'Huh? Snuggle? Who said anything about that?'.

At my lack of immediate response, she tilted her head. "Something wrong?"

My eyes shot open at the loaded question. Licking my lips nervously, I responded, "No! Not at all!"

"Good!" She said, hugging me tightly with a smile. When she let go, I heard a giggle from behind me, sending a blush into my cheeks.

"Baka" I heard, and the sound of Aoki rolling over. I glanced behind me to see the teen facing the other way.

I felt anticipation rise in my chest, and I couldn't tell if it was the good kind or not so good kind. My heart thudded, sending adrenaline through my veins, decreasing the flow of time through my mind. 'Why did I have to agree with this?' I thought.

I heard Silica open her menu. Snapped out of my thoughts, I saw her change her cloths; from the simple yellow dress she wore to a really baggy tshirt. My eyes widened in surprise as the folds of cloth settled on her.

She looked at me sheepishly. "You ready?" She asked quietly, twiddling her thumbs.

I gulped. 'Well, I am this far' I thought. I nodded wordlessly, and lay down next to her sitting figure, facing up. She lay down as well, moving my arm and curling up in the crevice created.

I stiffened for a moment as her body pressed against mine. Closed my eyes, and took a few deep breaths. I have never been a fan for human contact, and hugging used to be beyond my limits, so this was fairly painful until I got accustomed. I forced the clenched muscles to relax, loosening the tension as I breathed the cool night air.

"See? This isn't too bad!" I muttered to myself.

"Hmm?" Asked Silica from under my arm.

"Nothing" I said opening my eyes.

I looked at the night sky high above me. I already deduced that what I was looking at was the bottom of the next floor, but the sight still left me dazed.

Stars stretched from horizon to horizon, splashed across a sea of murky blackness. I tried to find common constellations, but none of the ones I had stored in my head were visible on the portrait that was the sky.

I decided to stop marveling what was above me after a few minutes, and instead turn my attention to my right, where a girl lay. I felt her rhythmic breathing, her body moving slightly with each inhale and exhale. I heard her heart beat in the silent night, a soft 'thump thump, thump thump, thump thump' that was almost imperceptible.

I felt the press of her body, almost as if she were trying to merge with my side. As though she were cowering from something. As though she were scared, and I was a refuge here, on this night, in this hell.

She trusted me to that extent here? Where any other person could easily take advantage of her? Where she, unlike irl, she stood a massive chance of dying a vain death? How? Why?

I heard a snoring on the other side of the dimming fire; Aoki was asleep. She can't fake snoring, having tried repeatedly in class irl.

Shaking the memory from my mind, since any form the past bring a hurt in my chest that was unexplainable, I saw the little refugee's eyes moving rapidly, eyebrows scrunched in a slight scowl. She was facing me, curled into a little ball.

"Silica?" I whispered. "Silica?"

"Hrm" came a reply, the brown haired girl not awake.

"Thank you" I said.

'I hope I do this right' I thought. I shifted slightly, and moved towards her forehead, where I placed my lips. I kissed her softly, trying not to bring her out of her shallow slumber.

'How can people sleep that quickly?' I asked myself as I settled back down on the grass. The firelight was nearly gone, and darkness was consuming all, but in a virtual world, there was no such thing as True Darkness; there was no pitch black. The closest thing was a negative status effect called [Blindness].

'I have known Silica for such a short amount of time, and she already treats me like I am wanted, more so than Natsuki ever did.'

I sat there, wondering how I could ever make it up to her, or make it worth her while to feel this way, and I came up with nothing. My brain, which has taken on the toughest challenges Man has created, and trumped them with ease, is incapable of something as seemingly simple as this. Wow, that's encouraging.

I felt the arms of sleep start to wrap around my consciousness, my ability to think slowing quickly.

I was met with the same night terror as before, with [Lupa, Queen of the Wolves] murdering my friends brutally. When Aoki fell, dead, I knelt on the ground, covered my ears, and shut my eyes, chanting "Nightmares stem from the belief that the dreamer has no control over their thoughts. I do not believe this."

It wasn't enough to keep Silica's screams of pain out of my head as she was gored by Lupa. I just sat there, not doing anything.

* * *

Argo leaned back after her lengthy Tale of Three Kids. After taking another drink of the black coffee, she peered from under the hood at Tohaku to see his reaction. His face was composed in the bar. 'Figures', thought the Info Broker, 'He isn't stupid enough to let me notice his thoughts so easily'.

"So? My money?" She prompted. "Gods, you are the only person who hasn't just started throwing what little cache you have built at me! Normally people want to know everything." She took another swig of the bitter black liquid.

Tohaku stared at her for a moment, and then pulled out the appropriate coins. After silently handing them to the Rat, he continued comprehending what he was just told.

"Well, I am leaving" said Argo. "Pleasure doing buiness with you. If you need anything else, you know how to get a hold of me."

And with a dramatic swish of her black cloak, she was out the door, onto collect more information.

'Well, the [Plan] has certainly changed' he thought. 'New [Plan]: have all of the Magicians join Squad Thirteen of the Army, then, united, we will Clear the Game.'

He looked around the musty tavern. 'But I will still take my revenge on RECT Enterprises, and Stephen… yes, Stephen. I must not forget what he has done to me.'

* * *

Silica heard a slight muttering coming from behind her. Not knowing what the sound was, she sat up, and looked.

Sometime during the night, she must have rolled away from Teika, because he was half a meter away, curled in a ball, murmuring slightly. Not fully comprehending the situation in her newly awakened state, Silica crawled over to him, and said "Hey, what's wrong?"

When he didn't respond, she became confused. 'Why wouldn't he answer me?' She thought. 'He must still be asleep.' She came up with the second thought after a few seconds of pondering.

'Then he must be having a nightmare' she then thought, fully awake.

"How do I help you?" She said as she crawled around him, to his front.

She saw his hands were tightly clamped on his ears, with his eyes firmly shut. She just couldn't make out the chant he was saying. It was something about not being able to control something, but she didn't care. She just wanted him to be ok.

"Hey! Teika! Wake up!" She commanded, shaking him slightly, and then harder as his state didn't change. "Come on!" She pleaded. "Don't think about it! Whatever it is!"

A thought popped into her head, and she stopped to think about it.

Deciding upon that course of action, she quickly scooted to where his head was. After lifting it, and placing it on her lap, she started stroking his hair.

"Shh, Teika-kun" she whispered, leaning close to his ear. "I am here for you, Teika-kun. Aoki-chan is here for you. Just be calm."

She could feel the beat of his rapid heart, and it started to slow. She kept stroking him, trying to end this.

'I just want him to be ok' she thought again, after his heart returned to normal, and the muttering stopped.

She gently placed his head on the ground, and then crawled in front of him. He had uncurled slightly, and was breathing normally. She laid herself down, in the same position, facing him. "Just be ok, ok?" She whispered.

She heard a long intake of breath, and then he grabbed her. It wasn't an assault like grab, but more like a hug, but it still had enough force to roll her over, so she was facing the other way.

Silica felt Teika's body press against hers, his arm draped over her torso. For a moment or two, she tried to struggle, not ready for this, but it proved to be futile as his singular arm held her in place.

'This isn't so bad' she thought. 'I woulda liked a little bit of a heads up, but this feels… pretty good actually.'

She felt his head nuzzle into the back of hers. Again, caught off guard, she took in a quick breath of air, and held it, forcing herself to be calm.

'He is always full of new surprises' she thought. The ground was soft, like a very firm mattress. His body seemed to welcome her snuggles, and relish in it, even if his conscious mind did not.

'He really does like me' she realized. 'He just doesn't want to like anyone in case they die here. Or in case he dies, and they get emotionally hurt.' That simple truth said a lot about his character. He cared for everyone, even when they didn't deserve it, he always found the best way to show them he cares. Even if he has to literally throw someone in a pit of mobs, he will do it because he wants to see them get over their fear of fighting, and succeed in this Death Game, created by a sadist.

She felt his warm breath against the back of her head and hair. She felt his heat thumping against her back. She heard his slight snoring. He had an aura around him that made others think that being with him was safe. That no one could ever hurt them again, and he would protect anybody he considered a friend at any cost. This, she knew for certain; he would do anything possible to get herself and Aoki out of Sword Art Online. No matter what.

Silica smiled, vizualizing hundreds upon hundreds of mobs swarming Teika, while he stood, with his iron ax, and cleaved through the horde. She was sure he could do anything, given enough time to think about how to do it.

She felt the arm on her stomach tighten slightly, and Silica scooted even closer to Teika. She felt him relax, entirely at ease up against her figure.

'I wonder if he really feels the same about me as I do him?' Thought Silica as their bodies pressed against each other. 'He says he does, but does he really?

He would never lie to me!

Or maybe he just doesn't want to hurt my feelings?

Why are you second guessing yourself?' Silica shook her head violently. 'He has no reason to lie!'

She heard a sigh behind her, and felt an accompanying small breeze on the back of her head.

Silica smiled. 'I am sure he feels the same.'

 **A chapter that spanned all of an hour at most! Gasp! Who would ever post such a monstrosity? Heheheeee...**


	31. Chapter 31-Familiarized, Jorn pt1

**And another one!**

 **thanks to the awesome people who make this story possible, which includes: Failtastic, Thunderwolf, WhiteEagle600, and Gothgod, but also includes whoever is brave enough to put up with the crap I type!**

 **if you ever get a chance, I would love to hear your thoughts on what I have been putting out, so long as it's reasonable, and not just flaming me because you are having a bad hair day.**

 **now I will quit with my jabbering.**

Lucy felt something soft underneath her. She lay there, somewhere, exhausted. She had a nagging feeling that she was supposed to do something, but couldn't figure it out. What was it? She felt her chest, to make sure she was still dressed. So it wasn't that. She thought about the day before. Being home before midnight, she didn't break cerfew, so it wasn't that. She didn't party too hard, or with too many guys, so it wasn't that. What was it?

"Lucy?" She heard. "Are you ok?"

The voice was deep, a low baritone, maybe upper bass. She knew because she used to be in her highchool's choir, so she would know this kind of thing. It was strikingly familiar, but that wasn't saying something; Lucy was always helping the other choir members, going into their class, and giving free private lessons, she was a protégée at everthing she tried. It was no surprise that this gruff voice came from something she has heard before.

"Lucy? Get up already! Please!" Came the voice again.

Lucy sat in her own thoughts. 'I don't wanna. I am sooooo tired'.

"Are you ok?" It said again.

Why wouldn't she be? She is right there, just trying to sleep. Even a protégée needs sleep.

"Open your eyes, goddamnit!" Shouted the voice.

'Fine fine' she thought. 'I will'

The darkness before her parted to reveal a wooden ceiling, maybe ten feet above her. Where had she seen that color of a ceiling before? It was a dark brown, like the color of chestnut. Oh yeah! In Captain Kora's office! Why would she be in his office?

Then it returned to her. The reality they were in. Sword Art Online, the Death Game. She was in Squad Thirteen's Captian's office, laying on his personal bed.

Wait! What was she doing on his bed?

"Ow" she groaned, and covered her eyes as a sudden pain assailed her. Her eyes throbbed, and the area behind her ears. It was like a migraine, or when she overexerted herself when singing.

"Is she ok? Heal her! She is in pain!" Came that baritone-ish voice. The voice of Captain Kora.

"I don't understand. Her hp bar is full, and her [Pain Absorber] is turned on." A hoarse voice replied immediately. It was light, but raspy with underuse.

"What's going on?" Asked Lucy, uncovering her eyes, but feeling the pain well up again. Steeling herself with gritted teeth, she forced herself to take in her surroundings.

There was a man standing, holding a smaller one. The larger had dark grey platemail armor, that covered his torso, and legs, with a green cloak draped around his shoulders. His face was hard, and rugged. It had the look of someone who has seen people die, and done the killing himself on an occasion or two. He had a stubble of a beard along his jawline, finishing his hard outdoorsy appearance.

The smaller was not very special. He had a white cloak around a skinny frame, a katana like blade strapped at his waist. He had an odd white mask on, and it really creeped Lucy out, but she knew him from somewhere. He was a protector… someone who would keep her safe…

"Wraith? Captain? Why are you two fighting?" She asked, ignoring the pain behind her eye. She stood, and faced the pair.

"Are you ok?" Asked Kora sincerely. He seemed very grave, for whatever reason.

"Well, yeah, other than you trying to strangle our healer!" She said, putting a foot down.

"Sorry" grumbled the Captain. "I thought he killed you for a moment."

Lucy was very confused. Killed her? How, and why, would he do that?

Seeing the expression on her face, Kora explained. "We did a ritual on you that would supposedly give you powers." He started. "It's called [Familiarizing], or creating a [Familiar]."

It came rushing back to her. What happened before she fainted.

She stood inside the black pentagram, candles burning a wicked red flame at each point. Wraith started chanting something in a language she didn't understand, but it sounded like nonsense. She was about to call it off when the candlelight turned blue, and not the kind of blue that the sky was colored, not his was a deep, menacing blue that scared her. Then, everything went black.

Immediately, Lucy looked at her HUD. It looked pretty normal, with her hp full, her level, and no negative status effects. One thing caught her eye. Right below her hp bar, was a tag, it read [White Mage Familar]. Or, the [Familiar of the White Mage].

"It… worked" she mumbled. Then the pain in her right eye flared again. She clutched it, moaning slightly. "What the hell? Why does this hurt so bad?"

Kora took out the [Hand Mirror] from day one. After handing it to her, she looked at her eyes. One was a brilliant shade of blue, the kind babies are born with. The other was different. It's iris was black, black as night, black as a void. It was the color of nothing.

She blinked repeatedly. "What…?" As soon as she looked at it, the pain left as soon as it appeared. She lowered the mirror when she heard the sound of teeth grinding. It was coming from her white clothed companion.

"Are you ok?" She asked her new friend.

After a quick nod, he walked out of the room, stiffer than usual, with his cloak trailing dramatically.

"Hrmph. The kid can take care of himself" mused Kora. He turned to Lucy, and asked "Are you ok?"

She nodded. "Yeah. The pain stopped when I looked at my eye." She stared at the closed door, where Wraith left. "Maybe we switched eyes in the game or something."

"That would explain why he has been making that annoying teeth finding noise" he said, also looking at the door. He scratched his head in thought. "Maybe this was a mistake, I mean, you both just went through a lot of pain for what? Did anything improve?" He again, faced Lucy.

She tilted her head, and then opened her menu. As the white display appeared, she navigated it, to her stats page. All of her stats were the same as before, with no bonuses. Next, she tried Skills.

When the list opened up, her jaw dropped. Origonally, there were only twelve rapier/shortsword skills, but now, now she saw more than twenty.

From items like [Piercing Light Blade], which ignored all of the def the receiver had, to [Blessing], which regained her own hp over time, the possibilities were endless! The endless list was filled with Skills for every situation. Now, she was able to fight to her fullest, without being limited by situation moves.

"This is total bullshit" she uttered, spinning the list for Kora to see.

"Yup" he replied. "Complete and utter bullshit." He turned away. "One thing is for sure. No frontlines for you for a little while"

* * *

"I see the boss room ahead!" Called out Jax. He then turned back to the [Lesser Tuarus Striker] he was facing. The Squad had been cleaving their way through mobs for the whole day, and was starting to get pretty tired.

"Keep fighting!" Called out Kora, who was struggling with a Striker of his own. "We must get to the door, and fight off the mobs! Then we can go inside, and check out the boss!"

"Yessir!" Came a unison shout from the Squad. The moral rose exponentially, and soon, the Strikers were defeated, just blue pixels floating to wherever little blue pixels float to. The team ran to the door, the tall door, imposing a darkness upon the stone hall.

"There we go" said Kora, huffing from the strain of taking on one of those tough mobs solo. He walked up, motioning to Wraith and Lucy to walk with him as well. He really didn't want to get stuck in there without those two at his sides.

He grabbed the handle, and pulled, the hinges squeaking loudly. The inside of the room was pitch dark, except for a rectangle of light, extending from the doorway.

"Hey, Wraith. You got any light spells in that list of yours?" Asked Kora to the Mage.

Nodding, he raised his hand, and a ball of light extended, flying away. Once it reached the edge of the light created by the hall outside of the bossroom, it vanished.

"Hrmph. I guess they don't want us to know what's in there" mused Lucy. "Oh well, let's tell Argo tonight, and have her distribute the info"

"No one is telling that Rat anything" said a cocky voice from behind. They whipped around to see silver armored knights: The HDA.

"The Alliance has no claim to that information" said Kora stepping forward, looking for the person who spoke earlier about their confidentiality.

Kora did a head count, and didn't like the odds. Thirty Knights versus his twelve member crew. Not good at all.

One of the knights stepped forward, and took off his helmet. "I don't care about our claim, the Alliance is getting to that boss, and killing it today"

"Jorn" came a guttural growl from Kora. Gritting his teeth, he looked at the knight. He had sandy blonde hair, with matching eyes. On his back was his massive one handed longsword, the blade that has won him many fights, and probably will for a while. It was the Anneal Blade, the best sword on the first three floors, and only found through a secret quest on the first floor.

"Hey, Kora old buddy! It looks like you and your ragtag group of misfits are actually good for something! Clearing the way of mobs so the Alliance can swoop in, and beat the Floor!" He smirked deeper, sending a pulsating anger through Kora, forcing the Army Captain to use much of his willpower to keep his cool.

"Think about it!" Continued the Alliance member. "If the HDA were to come in, and play the hero of this Floor, we would get so many recruits! Heck, maybe even some right from under your nose!" He laughed at Kora.

The Captain closed his eyes, calming down. Jorn is just a spotlight hungry bastard who doesn't know the first thing about how to run a Squad.

"So, which Squad are you?" Asked Kora to Jorn. "Like, five or something?"

HDA Section Five (they refused to call their parties Squads, since the Army did that) was known for its screw ups, and lack of, well, everything.

Jorn grimaced. "No, you idiot. Only someone from the Army would think that I would be a part of Five! I am the Captain of Section Two!" He smiled, and laughed.

Section Two was ruthless. Already, a whole village of npcs was slaughtered because they thought a Mage was hiding in the village. Rumor has it, that he is the Darkness Mage, and is in league with Kayaba to keep the game going for as long as possible.

"So, shall we take over? Or will you make us fight for it?" He asked tauntingly, wagging a finger. "Let's not spill blood over this, and settle the matter like civilized people."

"Like you did to that village?" Demanded Lucy, shrieking out in anger. "Was that civilized at all?" She stepped forward, hand on her shortsword hilt at her waist.

"We were searching for a Freak!" He said. "The village was hiding him, and we knew it!" He laughed. "It was the Freak you are hiding right now!"

Kora looked at Wraith who stood motionless. This was not new, but he saw his right hand twitching, as though wanting to reach for his okatana, and slice Jorn open.

"So, do we get the room, or not?" Asked Jorn.

Kora considered his options. Because they were in a dungeon, he couldn't send a pm, or teleport out for help, which meant that if there was a fight, Squad Thirteen was alone. If there was a conflict, their numbers would overwhelm even Wraith's magic and Lucy's unexplored abilities, since numbers trumps everything. There was little choice in the matter.

"Damnit. Take it" he said, stepping aside.

"No!" Shouted Lucy. She took Kora's place, between the door and the Alliance. "One v one me!" Her blade was drawn, and gleaming. She was prepared to fight over this.

"Lucy, let them have it" commanded Kora.

"No!" Shouted Lucy.

"Now!"

"No! I won't!"

"Do as I say!"

"I will not let that bastard take anything from me! He has taken enough, and I won't let him take Wraith as well! Don't you see? He is going to take him anyways! No matter what you do!" Lucy stood firm. "I will fight to protect my friends!"

"So be it, foolish girl" said Jorn.


	32. Chapter 32-Fifty Thousand Col Shoes

**And the last chapter ended with a cliffhanger! And this chapter has nothing to with the previous!**

 **i noticed a lack of views and reviews for the last chapter... I hope nine of you died on me, that would definitely suck. A lot.**

The light of the morning woke me. Yawning, I opened my eyes, my brain turning on for the day kept me from sitting up, and that something took the form of a scarcely clad girl.

My mind worked quickly, deducing her identity to be Silica, one of my two companions through the hellhole known as Sword Art Online, where ten thousand players have been trapped, with over five hundred already dead. What my mind couldn't figure out, was why we were in the same position, with her body pressed firmly against mine, or why my right arm was under her, trapping me… or why my left was draped across her stomach.

Not knowing things really scares me.

My heart started thumping faster as adrenaline seized control of my body. I remained where I was by sheer will, because I was sure if I made a ruckus disturbing her, my other companion, Aoki, would give me hell to pay. I lay there, trying to find out how I got into in this ungodly situation.

It must have started last night, when Silica all but forced me to sleep with her. But she was snuggled underneath my arm, not like this! Did she do this? Did she take advantage of me? Of my willingness to cooperate?

No, Silica isn't like that. She is kind, and gentle, and sometimes a little arrogant, but not the type of person who would love to snuggle, and show affection, but not force her partner into anything. Then how in hell did this happen?

Maybe it had to do with my nightmare last night. Where I stood, listening to my friends die from a miniboss we already defeated. The last time I had that dream, I tried to defend my friends, and failed. This time, I knew I would lose, so I didn't even try to use violence. I tried psychology.

Nightmares stem from the belief that the dreamer has no control over their thoughts. I believed that if I could banish that belief, then I would be cured from the terror of having Silica and Aoki die before me. Needless to say, I was incapable of doing that.

Halfway through the slaughtering, I heard a voice, saying "shhh. I am here for you, Teika-kun.", and other things I could not make out. After this, I felt something stroking my head. Then, Lupa, and the mangled corpses, disappeared. After that, the setting was a prairie. I was laying face up, my left hand behind my head, my right extended to Silica, who was holding it. It was serene.

"Silica" I whispered, seeing if the girl was close to waking. She didn't even stir, still caught up in her rest. Well, after what we have gone through so far, I think she earned it. I just wasn't a fan of her on my arm; it was already starting to get sore.

I tensed, ready to move it slowly. Right before I did, though, Silica rolled over. She moved away from me, and yawned.

"Hey, Silica" I said to her. She was facing me again, and opened her eyes. The red irises stared back at me, still waking up.

"Hi Teika-kun" she said, with another yawn. She sat up, and rubbed her eyes.

"You can just call me Teika" I said. "I don't need some special honorific or anything."

She looked at me, and tilted her head. "But it's acknowledge that you are a close friend."

I smiled. "Thanks for the sentiment, but I don't need you to keep calling me 'kun' to understand that you enjoy being around me." I sat up as well, stretching my arm muscles, with fought back at the new movement.

After a moment, I looked across the firepit, where Aoki had lain the night before. She was still there, snoring away. Her black hair swept across her face.

Wait, black? Didn't she dye it pink?

I quickly pulled out the [Hand Mirror] from Day One, and looked at myself. My black irises were back to blue, and my hair returned to its brown. The color of dirt. Damnit.

"What the…?" I asked loudly. "I thought that stuff was permenant!"

"What, the hair dye?" Lasted Silica with mirth in her eye. "Nope. Not permanent."

"Damnit!" I cursed.

"Why is it such a big deal?" Asked Silica, crawling over to me, and putting a hand on my shoulder lightly.

"I don't want people knowing what I really look like" I said, staring at the sky above. Clouds moved across it, sailing in the endless sea that was the bottom of floor three.

"Well, I think you look really nice with the brown hair!" She exclaimed, beaming.

I blushed profusely, and studied my boots. They were in desperate need of repair, but I haven't found a Tanner Shop yet. That will have to take a near top priority.

"Hey, you two are up already?" Came a question from Aoki.

"Yeah" I said facing her.

"Wait" her tired eyes squinted. "Your hair is normal."

"Yeah" I said.

"Is mine?" She tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah" I repeated for a third time.

Her eyes widened. "I thought it was permenant!" She exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

"I did too" I raised my hands in a submissive gesture, knowing how Aoki got when she didn't get her way.

"Ugh" she clenched her fists.

"Hey, I think you two look better without the fake colors" said Silica again, standing to face Aoki.

That seemed to simmer her down a little, but not much. "Well, thanks" she muttered.

I stood, hoping to change the subject. "How about we go, and find a Tanners'?"

Aoki looked down at her boots, and agreed heartily. "Yeah, I think we all need to"

After Silica changed into appropriate clothing for public appearances, we headed off to Urbus, the main settlement in the second floor of Aincrad.

The city was about three hundred meters in diameter, and sat within a crater on top of a plateau. There was a wall around it, like all of the cities thus far, that kept the unwanted mobs out of the settlement. Its design was basic, with everything made out of wood or stone, but it served its purpose nicely.

After an hour of searching the Financial District of Urbus, I gave up. How could finding a half decent Tanner be this hard? Everyone needs boots at some point!

"Hello, young traveler" came a raspy voice. I turned and saw an old and weathered npc manning a stall that sold cold refreshments. "May I help you find something?" He asked with a smile tugging at his wrinkled face.

I nodded, and approached. "I am in need of a shoemaker. Do you know any around here?"

He seemed to think. "A shoemaker, 'ey? Well, I haven't seen one of those in quite a while… hmm… let me think" his eyebrows furled. "Talk to John Tanner. He owns a bar called the Flying Boar on Main Street. His father was a shoemaker, while he was still alive, and maybe John will be able to help you out young traveler."

I nodded my thanks to the npc, and headed to Main Street. Once there, I asked another npc where the Flying Boar was, and she pointed me at the most run down and disappointing structure imaginable it looked like a tower of Legos was more stable than this thing. Half of the roof was caved in, and rot had eaten away at a lot of the board supporting it. How it could still be standing, I had no idea. There was a wimpy looking sign on the outside, stating the name of the establishment.

I gulped, and pushed open the door, hoping it didn't fall off its hinges.

Once inside, I ignored the scenery, and made for the bar, where an npc was polishing glasses.

"What do ye want?" He demanded, putting the cup and rag down.

"I am looking for John, John Tanner?" I stated confidently.

"Well, yer a'lookin' at 'im" came the gruff reply. He resumed his polishing.

He stood at over six feet tall, with massive muscles on each arm. He had a stubble of a beard, and bright orange hair. Overall, he looked more and more like a bouncer, and less and less like a bartender.

"I was told your father made shoes for a living" I prompted the npc.

His body tensed. "Whoeva told ye youn'uns that is jus' tryin' ta start trouble!" He said. "Now, ye betta stop a'wastin' my time, boy."

"Yo, John, they just want some shoes, man! No need to snap at them!" Came a voice behind me. I whipped around to see a cloaked figure, standing a little under six feet tall. All I could see under the black hood was a smiling mouth.

"But I don' care!" Came the gruff reply. "I won' be answerin' any o' their questions!"

"Then I will tell him, you meat for brains!" Exclaimed the npc. He motioned for us to walk with him towards a booth, where we all sat, with Aoki next to the strange man.

"So, you wanted to know about Old Man Tanner?" He asked, sipping a vile smelling liquid.

"Yeah." I answered, staring intently, feeling a quest coming.

As soon as it registered my response, a question mark appeared above the npc's head.

"Well, there was a time" he started.

Great. The same old RPG crap. Oh well, I guess some of it might be useful.

Continuing, the npc ignored my eye roll. "When Urbus sported the best craftsnmen in all of Aincrad. Smiths, Tanners, Weavers, Carpenters, they all were top notch here. Then, that's when Asterius came."

The npc sighed, and stared out the window. "Asterius was the King of the Taurus, and still is. He took all of the craftsmen, and sent them to his lair, where he forced them to labor, making his army weapons. Now, all we have are the women for weaving, and the occasional merchant from another land. Even the merchants stopped coming, since we are now a poor people"

The nodded figure faced me again. "Would you, traveler, defeat their captor? Asterius has his general, Baran. Would you, travel to the Tuarus' lair, and defeat [Baran, the General Taurus]?"

A window opened before me, asking if I would accept the quest. I was about to hit the confirm icon, but Aoki spoke.

"We really don't need shoes, we can go without" she said.

"Yeah, but look at the money given by completing the quest" I said spinning it around.

"Fifty thousand? Take it, accept it now!" She commanded.

I laughed, and hit the appropriate button.

* * *

We were resting in Taran, the closest settlement to the Labyrinth for floor two. A map was provided by the shady npc, which designated a specific part of the labyrinth as Baran's hideout. After committing the map to memory, I passed it to Aoki for safekeeping.

Since it was approaching nightfall, we decided to rent a room. The ones with multiple beds were way beyond our small budget, so I was to take the floor again. Laying in the wooden boards of the room felt relaxing. Some people hate my uncanny ability to sleep anywhere, and in any position. It was certainly a blessing to do that.

The two girls were laying in the bed as I planned the next day in my mind. After a moment in my trance, I heard the sound of someone getting out of the (thankfully queen sized) bed. I kept my eyes closed, guessing who it was.

"Hey, are you still awake?" Asked Silica above me.

"Hai" I responded.

"You ok if I sleep with you?" She said timidly.

I smiled. "Sure."

Sitting up, I scooted more to the right, since there would be little room for the both of us if I stayed in the center.

She sat beside me, and lay down, facing away. "Would you please snuggle with me?"

I felt that same anxiety as before grip my heart, but I forced it down, starting to get accustomed to this. "Sure". I conformed my body to hers, pressing against her back.

"What are the plans for tomorrow?" She asked quietly, since we could hear Aoki snoring.

"I am hoping to hunt down Lis, and have her repair my ax, and give me a new set of tomahawks." I said. "You ok with that?"

"Yup. I was hoping to also have my knife fixed." She said.

I smiled. "Well, I am sure Aoki will have no problem with it."

"Then we raid Baran's?" She asked, rolling over to face me.

"Then we raid Baran's." I replied.


	33. Chapter 33-Jorn pt2, Elsewhere

**and another chapter quickly!**

 **yyyaaayyy! Failtastic and Thunderwolf are still alive! And I have a new fan!** **Zandaino-Nova-Ari!**

The tension hanging in the air was high, almost thick enough for Lucy to slice with her shortsword. She brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes, licking her lips nervously. Her opponent was staring her down, waiting for the timer to tick to zero, signifying the begging of the bout.

She sent the request a moment earlier, and he had set it to [Full Loss]. This was a fight to the death. She would either keep these freaks form hurting her friend, Wraith, and the rest of Thirteen, or she would lose her life in the process.

She smiled cynically. 'It's like our fates are now tied' she thought. 'All because those bastards only think about themselves!'

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

'I refuse to let them do this! Not only will they kill Wraith, for the chance to take his power, but all of Squad Thirteen for being accomplices!'

Seven.

Six.

Five.

She adjusted her grip on the small rapier, balancing on her spread legs. He was a str type, the slow, but hard hitting type. She could easily duck under his guard, and deal quick damage.

Four.

Three.

Two.

Lucy hated the thought of killing another person, especially one who helps fight bosses, and get people out of this Death Game, but Wraith will be more of a help. In a logical sense, this was right.

One.

She crouched, ready to leap forward.

Zero.

Gong!

She ran forward, rapier at her side. It turned a silver color, as [Linear] prepared to surge her forward. Jorn saw this comming, and swung vertically, right in her path!

She refused to be struck down now, and managed to jump to the side, letting her stabbing skill fly at his armored chest.

He staggered back form the sudden blow, and swung a clumsy horizontal swing, forcing Lucy to leap back. She crouched, waiting for another opening in his guard.

Jorn regained his footing, and scowled. "You certainly are fast. But that didn't do a single thing!" His scowl turned into a smile. "Everyone thinks I am only a str type, but I have a significant amount of SP on def as well! Your attacks do almost nothing to me!"

Lucy blinked rapidly. 'that means that I would have to draw out this fight in order to beat him, and I will tire before that happens!' Her eyes widened in sudden fear. Stoning her expression, she tried to form a plan, failing miserably.

"You see, I just have to sit here, and take every hit you unleash! After you collapse from exhaustion, I can hack your head of, killing you in one swing!" The knight of the Alliance laughed. "And then the HDA will be unchallenged by any! Even the Army!"

'Come on! Come on! Don't I have a Skill for everything?' She thought. 'If I check my menu, he can easily run forward and cut me down. So I have to think of its name! And how to activate it!' Lucy racked her brain, trying to remember the skill that would help most right now.

[Light Piercing Blade].

"Who said that?" She asked aloud, looking to either side, trying to pinpoint the speaker.

The name of the skill is [Light Piercing Blade]. Activate it the same as you would a [Linear], except you have to speak a chant right before you unleash the chant. You will know it when you start the skill.

"Ok" she said. "Whoever you are, thanks"

She crouched, and raised her shortsword to parallel with the ground. The sword started glowing silver again with the thrusting skill. But this time, she chanted.

"Oh, heavenly Lord, give me the power to smite my enemies tenfold. Grant me the strength to protect, by giving me the strength to fight. Let my blade pierce through my foe like a beam of Your light through darkness!" She cried out the words, not knowing where she got them. Lucy started running forward.

"What?" Asked Jorn, readying his sword to block the comming attack. "A Chanting Skill? A Spell?"

"No" Said Kora behind them. "An [Ability] granted by a Mage"

When Lucy was three meters from her enemy, and let the sword fly forward. Jorn tilted his sword, catching the tip of her blade with the flat of his, planning to stop its momentum.

It didn't work out, as her sword stabbed through the wide greatsword like a hot knife through butter, punching a small hole in it.

The shortsword kept going, right into and out of Jorn's chest.

He hung on her blade, his feet holding him up, shock keeping him there.

"How did you do that? He whispered, staring at the ground. "I am nearly invincible."

"I'm just better." Responded Lucy, withdrawing her sword from his chest. Jorn staggered backwards. "I have something to fight for, unlike you."

She saw his hp draining steadily from the bleeding effect, so she turned to go back to her commander.

As the bitch who humiliated him walked away, Jorn watched his hp dip lower and lower. Through the green, yellow, orange. As soon as he hit red, it stopped, the bleeding over.

He smiled wickedly.

"Die!" He shouted, taking the three steps quickly, and slicing the blonde bitch's neck.

Lucy stopped moving, surprise entering her features as Kora watched.

"No!" He shouted, running forward.

She started falling to the ground as Kora went to catch her. Right before he reached her, however, she exploded into blue lights.

Dead.

Forever.

"I, Jorn, of the Holy Dragon Alliance, claim the Floor Two Boss Room as property of the Alliance. No player shall enter it without the express permission of the HDA!" Shouted Jorn. "Now, seize Wraith, the Mage of Light! And kill Squad Thirteen!"

* * *

We were inside the Labyrinth of Floor Two, hunting this [Baran, the Taurus General]. Earlier that morning, we tried finding Lis, since she was certainly the best smith I knew of, but we couldn't. Someone told us she was on some adventure with the someone (there were a lot of rumors), so we gave up, settling for overpriced npc wares.

I had two brand new tomahawks shoved into my belt. They looked like anctient Native Amerindian ones, with little feathers on the back, and had the special ability to be called back to me with a certain hand motion. This would be useful, since now I can use one throwing ax over and over in the same fight without having to search near where it landed the last time.

We trudged through the dungeon, Aoki and Silica huddled around a map to make sure we were going the right way, while I visualized the virtual piece of paper, knowing right where Baran was.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Questioned Aoki, staring at the map. "This thing says we should have taken a left a hundred meters back…."

"Trust him! He knows what he is doing!" Squeaked Silica insignintly.

"Most of the time" I countered. "This way will have some extra mobs, so we can boost our xp levels a little before heading to Baran. It's also a shortcut" I explained without turning, keeping my ears peeled for the sound of mobs. For some odd reason, we haven't encountered a single enemy in the few hours we have been in here. I was really not liking that fact, the silence creeping me out.

"See!" Taunted Silica with a 'I told you so' expression.

"Yeah, yeah" relented Aoki. "Still, maybe we should have stuck to the map"

"Then you wouldn't have found me" said Tohaku, stepping out of a crevice in the wall.

I stopped walking, reaching for a tomahawk.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I can use magic here, and Aoki cannot, so I am sure I can easily take the three of you on in a fight solo." He said, raising a finger. "But I am not here to fight."

"Then why are you here?" I demanded.

"Because" came a deep voice I knew. "Tohaku planned it, and he is never wrong."

"Oh I wouldn't say that" said the ice Mage with a blush in his cheeks form the flattery.

"I would!" Squeaked Mayoko, sitting on Miho's shoulder as the pair exited the same crevice Tohaku did, leading me to think it was a tunnel, not a crevice. "He always knows what to do!"

Silica stared pointedly at Aoki. "I wish you had that much faith in Teika!"

"Shush!" I commanded, trying to keep the pair quiet.

"You look different Teika" said Tohaku. "Your hair is brown. You look better with brown hair"

"So I have been told" I said. "You still haven't told me what you want"

"To join you on the [Stolen Craftsmen] quest!" He said, surprising me.

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

Tohaku smiled. "I like it when I instill that feeling of stupidity in people" he sighed. "I wish to have some decent gear for my friends here, so went hunting for the missing craftsmen, as I am sure you did."

"So, you wish to join us, to defeat Baran?" I asked.

"Now the lightbulb goes off!" Mocked Mayoko.

"Don't be that mean, Mayoko!" Scolded Tohaku. "But yes, I would like to accompany you in your battle with the General Taurus."

"This is… surprising" I said. "To say the least."

"I don't think we should trust him" whispered Aoki.

"For once, I agree with you" responded Silica. "He still creeps me out."

"I don't think we need your help, Tohaku" I said. "But I thank you for the request."

"It wasn't a request" he stated immediately. "I was telling you that we are coming. You will not stop us"

"If I try?" I asked, again, gripping the tomahawk called [Tribal Cry].

"I don't think you will. Two ordinary fighters with a useless Mage versus three powerful mages who can use their powers in a Labyrinth. If you wish to keep Aoki and Silica alive, then please do not even try anything." Tohaku explained with a blank expression. "I really hate to threaten any of you, but it is the truth."

"Bullshit" I said. "I am certain you would get rid of the three of us, if your sick mind thought it convenient!"

There was a whoosh, and a blur. Mayoko stood in front of me, holding a knife to my throat. "You do not insult Tohaku-kun in front of me" she growled menacingly.

I didn't even twitch. 'Well, great job. You seem to have pissed off the trigger happy girlfriend.'

"I am right though" I said calmly, keeping my voice level.

The blade pushed against my throat, almost cutting. "You call him out for being such a monster, and you don't even know why he is this way." She snarled. "You hypocritical bastard."

"You are a hypocrite!" Said Silica suddenly. "Getting angry for insulting Tohaku, and you insult him!" She drew her knife, and held it in a backhand grip.

"Silly Silica!" She leered. "You think you can take me?"

The knife moved away from my neck, allowing me to breath more freely.

"No, but I have to try. For Teika-kun's honor" she muttered, starting to stutter.

"Baka" said Mayoko. "You think he has any honor to begin with."

I saw her body tense as she was about to move at Silica. 'No!' I thought.

I reached for her arm, and grabbed it. She froze in place, unable to escape my iron grip. "Sorry" I said. "But I cannot allow you to assault Silica right now. Please try again later. And you" I looked over my shoulder at my defender. "I don't need you to get yourself killed. I appreciate the gesture, but I would appreciate having you at my side more."

"You dare mock me?" yelled Mayoko. Sadly for her, I was gripping her right hand, her knife hand, so she couldn't do anything about it.

"Yes. I do" I lifted her off the ground, since she was a little shorter than myself.

"Damn you! Damn you bastard!" She wailed, trying to get out of my grip.

I felt a massive hand lay on my shoulder. "I am gonna have to ask you to put her down".

I looked up, and to the left, and stared into the face of Miho, the Giant.

"Of course!" I said with a smile, trying to defuse the situation. "But, I don't want to release her. Could you hold her instead? You look a hell of a lot stronger."

His expression didn't change. "Put her down" he said again.

"You know that if I let her go, then she will-" the next words were swallowed up by a foot being planted in my stomach.

I was knocked to the ground, and forced to let go of Mayoko. She was about to run and attack Silica, but a sharp voice rang out.

"Stop" yelled Tohaku. The single syllable, that seemed to have the power to freeze space and time, barked out from his mouth.

Mayoko froze, not moving. "Yessir" she muttered, and relaxed, turning to climb on Miho's shoulder.

"We must all get along" scolded the ice Mage. "If you cannot do that, then you are expendable."

"We must learn to work together, and fight hand in hand, not one against the other. If we cannot do this, then this Death Game will defeat us." He continued, strolling towards me.

He held out a hand, to help me up. I grasped it, still recovering breath from that vicious kick Mayoko dished out. He heaved me to my feet, and helped me stay balanced with an arm around my shoulder. "Neither party may like this, but I am sure a compromise is possible"

He looked at all of us in turn. "Now then, off to find Baran."

 **And the first meets her untimely demise.**

 **dont get too attached to any of the characters, you never know who is next!**


	34. Chapter 34-Jorn pt3

**And I think this is the longest chapter in my short fanfic writing history!**

 **Thanks to all of my wonderful readers, who put up with my every changing plot, and sadist personality! You guys are the best!**

The six of us were walking through the Labyrinth, our footsteps echoing on the stone walls. My buckler was on my left arm, with [Iron Head] in my right hand. A few moments ago, we got surrounded by [Lesser Taurus Striker]s, but Tohaku froze most of them while the rest of us dealt with the remainder. Able to fight together with Aoki (using a one handed longsword) and Silica, I fought with my friends.

I stared forward, following Tohaku and his goonies silently, not wanting to show any friendly attitude towards him. I was lost in thought at a strategy to defeating Baran, even though I don't know his attack pattern, so when Argo ran up to us, I was caught unawares.

"Up ahead! At the boss room! Hurry!" Her eyes were open wide in fear. "Now!"

"What is wrong?" Asked Tohaku to the frightened brunette.

"No time! Come on!" She grabbed his arm, and proceeded to try and drag him further. "We have to go, I will tell you on the way!"

I exchanged glances with Silica and Aoki, nodding. We ran forward. "We better go. Argo doesn't make a fuss over nothing" I said in passing to Tohaku.

Argo ditched him, and ran alongside me, drawing some knives. "Squad Thirteen found the boss room, and was about to enter when-" she started.

"Let me guess!" Commanded Aoki. "The Alliance showed up?"

Argo nodded her confirmation while we ran. "Yeah. One of the Army died, trying to stop them from taking Wraith, the light Mage. Right now, they are in real trouble!"

'She must have chose us because leaving the Labyrinth to find help would have taken too long. Smart Rat.'. I nodded. "We should go faster."

I pulled ahead of the rest, pumping my legs. If the HDA is involved, then something isn't right.

I made a turn after a flight of stairs, and saw them. There must have been thirty or more silver clad knights, surrounding the tall dark doors.

"Now! Kill Squad Thirteen!" Shouted one of them, pointing at the doors.

The Army Squad must be right there! I drew a tomahawk, and threw it wildly, trying to attract attention. The blade imbedded deep into the boss room door, with a resonating thud.

The whole corridor got silent. "Oops" I said angrily. "I guess I missed."

"Who the hell are you?" Asked one of the knights, drawing a longsword. He also had a square iron shield, similar to that of the Roman Leigonaries. "What the hell do you think you are doing here, huh punk?"

'Punk?' I thought. 'I thought that word was only said in anime. Oh well, shows what I know'. I smiled. "I am here to, sorry to sound cliche, but to put a stop to your plans. You see, I think Squad Thirteen would be a big help to getting your sorry asses out of this Death Game, so killing them would not be such a nice idea." I stood firm.

"Excuse me" came a voice, a man pushing threw the crowd. "What do you want?"

He had bright hair, with eyes just as bright, but they didn't radiate with the mischief those kind of eyes were made for. No, they emanated sadism.

I raised a hand dramatically, and opened my palm toward my [Tribal Cry] ax, many meters away. It wrenched itself from where I stuck it, rocketing back to my hand. I caught the spinning shaft confidently, having praticed this a few (hundred) times.

'Where is my backup?' I asked myself. At the moment, I knew I couldn't take on thirty knights on my own. I needed Tohaku, Mayoko, or Miho with me for that. All I could do was stall, and even that wouldn't be for long.

"I want you to stop terrorizing my buddies over there" I spoke calmly, sending my voice echoing through the corridor. "I have gotten a little attached to them, and I think I might not like them to die."

The person approaching me was oddly familiar, in a dreadful sort of way. He brushed a lock of bright hair out of his eyes. "And if I don't relent?"

"Then I might go red" I said referring to my cursor. "And I don't care about the consequences."

"Ooh, scary" mocked the man still walking. He stopped about ten meters away. "How about a duel then?"

"Don't do it!" Shouted a man I recognized as Kora. "He killed Lucy!"

My eyes widened. I remembered Lucy form the first floor boss fight. She was a shortsword user who fought valiantly, and with a lot of regard to other's safety. I scowled. Then I have to fight.

It wasn't the logical move. The logical choice would be to turn and run, leaving the Army to fend for themselves, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. Then I couldn't look Silica in the eyes. I had to do this, to hopefully set the HDA straight.

"Then I accept your challenge." I said. I opened my menu, and sent the request.

He smiled. "Good then, two fuckups killed in one day. New personal record". I watched him choose the [Full Loss] setting. After he hit confirm, a window asking if I was sure about dueling.

"I think we should fight to [Half Loss]" I said. "I wouldn't want to kill you".

"Idiot. I took on a bitch who was being helped by a Mage! I think I can take little old you down" he smirked cockily. "Just hit the goddamned button"

I nodded, about to press it.

"Teika! No!" I heard. My head whipped around to see Aoki and Silica running up. Both were out of breath, but Silica managed to yell out to me. "Don't do it!"

"Ha! You got a girlfriend!" Mocked the knight in front of me. "She seems to know that you won't win, I wonder why…" he pretended to ponder it.

"Silica, please constrain yourself. A little confidence would suit you very well" I said smiling to take the sting out of my words. I was facing the knight at this point. "I will kill him. Ruthlessly, and without mercy. The same as, I am guessing, he did Lucy. I am willing to sacrifice my consciousness to teach these people a very good point: you do not kill for sport."

"Are you sure about this" ore footsteps came up, and I identified the speaker as Tohaku without looking.

"Yes." I answered. "Miho, please restrain Silica and Aoki from rushing to my aid if it is needed."

"I will" came the rumbling voice.

"No! No you won't!" Wailed Aoki. "Idiot! Don't you dare start the duel!"

"Tohaku" I continued ignoring Aoki. "I would like you keep the other knights from interfering."

"Fine with me" he said. "You better come out of this alive. I would hate to see Silica and Aoki in such a state if you don't."

I pressed the [Confirm] button, starting a sixty second countdown timer. "I will. I promise."

I addressed the knights. "I am appealing to the ancient Japanese custom of one versus one fighting. We exchange names in preparation for the fight. I am known as Teika" I bowed slightly.

"Why would I do that?" He demanded.

"So I can tell your commanding officers who I killed, and who they have to replace" I said, getting my posture ready for the fight.

"Hrmph. Not gonna happen, lover boy, but I will appease you. I am Commander Jorn of the Holy Dragon Alliance, Section Two." He didn't bow. "And I will kill you"

I quickly equipped the buckler and Ironhead. I won't let this bastard get away with meaningless killing.

The gong sounded, and neither of us advanced, ready to wait the other out. He was using a two handed longsword of some kind, ditching his one handed one and shield. It was very basic in design, but the way RPGs worked is the more epic looking the weapon, get stronger it is. This, on the second floor, we don't exactly have epic looking weapons.

"So, are we just going to stand here?" He sneered. "Or are you gonna come at me?"

"I think I am perfectly happy staying right here" I said. My reasoning was that I was positive I would outlast him in a stamina contest, considering I didn't have heavy plate armor weighing me down. "But if you want, I will oblige by charging you. Just ask." I smiled. I am good at psychological warfare.

"Huh. I don't give a damn. I can stay here all day if I want to" he shouted. "Just you see!"

"Wow, Teika is really starting to get to him" I heard a whisper behind me.

"Yup, Silica. When he wants to, he can infuriate anybody." Came a pleased response. Only Aoki knows me that well.

"Hey, Tohaku" I shouted behind me. "Can you please tell Aoki how to use her powers in here? I want some grilled steak!"

I heard laughter from all around. That one comment was enough to break the tension, if only for a moment.

(Pov change)

Aoki looked proudly at her friend, standing in a frozen posture, staring down a murderer. He had both tomahawks in his belt, but she knew he incorporated those into his fights all the time. His battle ax was only used as a Coup De'Gras, or to keep an enemy away.

"Yo, you gonna answer?" She asked to the ice Mage.

He sighed. "Sure. Since I wish to be friendly with you three." He calmly walked over to Aoki and whispered in her ear.

"You better take me seriously, boy!" Shouted the knight facing Teika. "Or else!"

"Or else what?" He said with a calm tone.

Aoki knew how to read him, since she was the first person he opened up to, and the only one he trusts one hundred percent. Silica was close, maybe at ninety five, but Aoki knew him to the core, and right now, he was seething. He was itching to run at this bastard who killed someone he knew, and tear his head off. Teika was just playing a game to torture this brat.

Tohaku's explanation was short, and to the point. It was so simple, that Aoki slapped her forehead, with a "Why didn't I think of that?".

She opened her Equipped Items page in her inventory, and took off the chainmail under her shirt. Once it was gone, she motioned for her companions to give her some space.

Spreading her legs to shoulder width, she shouted "[Ignium Meis]"

Tohaku produced an uncooked steak, and dropped it a few meters from Aoki.

"Medium rare, right Teika?" She shouted as flames engulfed her arms.

"Yup, that would be perfect" he shouted back.

"You are really going to eat in the middle of a fight?" Demanded Jorn. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Not taking you seriously" he responded with a straight face.

"[Augue]" shouted Aoki, pointing an open palm at the red meat on the ground. She put about a third of the max power she could into the fireball, so she hoped it didn't burn the meat too badly.

A basketball sized sphere of red and orange rocketed form her hands, and slamming into the meat, charring it and the surrounding stone. She walked over to the spot where the steak was still steaming, and picked it up.

"Hot hot!" She shouted, juggling it from hand to hand. She put it in her inventory, and checked it out.

"Sorry, Teika. It's well done" she said.

"No prob! I'm hungry!" He responded, making her chuckle.

She walked over, handing the somewhat cooler meat to him, where he scarfed it down. Then he sat, sighing. "That was good."

"Did you taste it?" Demanded Aoki. "I think you ate the whole sixteen ounce piece in less than three bites!"

"Actually, it was three bites" he corrected. "Ugh, I could sleep on that"

He laid down, and closed his eyes, a content smile on his face.

"That is it! You will fight me now, and stop acting like I don't matter!" Jorn stated running towards the prone Teika.

The ax wielder didn't even open an eye, just laying there content. Jorn raised his sword in a backhand grip,and plunged it down. Aoki backed away quickly.

At the last second, Teika rolled out of the way, and into Jorn's legs, knocking the larger onto the smaller. Teika then promptly stood up, forcing Jorn onto his back. Jorn had lost his sword in the fall, and it was about a meter away. Teika had one knee on the knight, and a tomahawk raised over his head. His face was scary. It housed rage that had been held back by a mental dam of willpower that just opened.

"Please! Have mercy!" Shouted the knight, raising his arms to cover his face.

"No" came the simple answer. It was whispered, yet every ear in the room heard it. "I will not give you mercy, but I will let you try and beat me. Just to crush your ego"

Teika stood up, and walked away, retrieving the battle ax and shield on the ground where he was laying a moment before. Jorn took this opportunity to scramble for his sword, and stood up.

"Foolish boy" he growled. "Now die!" He rushed at Teika, swing with a [Vertical].

Teika blocked with the buckler, now reattached to his arm. The sword got imbedded in the wood, not letting Jorn move back.

"Sorry, I can't die yet" said Teika. "I still have a few people to live for" he brought his ax horizontally into Jorn's face, making the older man reel back from the force of the blow.

Jorn was forced to let go of his sword for a second time. Teika threw his shield with the blade sticking out of it like Excalibur from the Arthurnian myth behind him. He then proceeded to swing his ax overhead, and separated Jorn's body form its head, killing him instantly.

After the glass shattering sound faded, the whole room froze. Then Teika collapsed to his knees and started crying.

The HDA took this as a chance to run away, which was smart for them, or Aoki woulda torched the lot (surely the Squad Thirteen would drop to the ground at the sight of a massive wall of flames speeding towards them, right?).

Silica ran to Teika's side, and was about to be accompanied by Tohaku, but Aoki held out her arm, stopping him.

"Let Silica cheer him up. After killing someone, he needs it." She said quietly.

(Pov change)

I sat on my knees, my arms supporting my body from falling forward. The realization that I just killed someone kept circling my head, forcing all other thought to cease. Killing was not a pleasant experience, nor had I expected it to be, but this was beyond what I could comprehend.

Hey!" I heard. "Don't cry Teika-kun!"

I felt someone kneel next to me, but I didn't open my eyes. I felt tears drop on the back of my hand, I could hear my pitiful sobs, I tasted something sour, and bitter. It was probably bile, at my disgust for my own actions.

I felt a hand get placed on the back of my head, and gently force it onto an awaiting shoulder. I moved my head slightly, feeling my head nuzzle into Silica's neck. Her arms wrapped around me, and caressed my back and head.

"Hey, don't cry." She whispered. "You shouldn't feel so bad, you saved Squad Thirteen!"

"I k-k-killed another person" I stuttered out between sobs.

"And he was probably gonna get nuked by Aoki if you didn't do that" she reasoned with my shuddering form.

"I c-can't deal the this right n-n-now" I said. "Sorry"

"Hey, thanks" I heard a gruff voice.

I sat up, and off Silica's shoulder, and cleared my eyes with the back of my hand. I saw Kora standing over me, hands on his hips. I rubbed some snot from my upper lip, and looked at him questioningly.

"You avenged my best friend in this hellhole." He explained. "I was about to charge him, and probably die also, but you came and rescued us. Thanks"

He reached over, and squeezed my shoulder. He then walked off, probably back to their HQ.

The rest of Thirteen strolled by, nodding at me. I did a terrible thing, but for a great cause. I would probably not be able to shake away nightmares for the next month or so, but at least this will allow me to continue my will to live.

"Are you ok?" Asked my little friend next to me.

I looked at her. Even sitting, we were eye level. "As ok as I can be" I said with a nod.

"Can you walk?" She asked. "Kora is gonna tell everyone about the bossroom, and there will be a raid tomorrow. You don't have to go if you don't wanna." She looked concerned, but rightfully so. "We could spend a day together, on a break"

I nodded. "I think that would be nice."

I looked over to my buckler and Iron Head, where they lay, less than a meter away from me. I didn't know if I could ever pick those up again after what I just did, but I knew I would probably have to at some point later.

"Aoki, please store my weapons" I said gesturing to the discarded items. "I really don't wanna-"

She cut me off. "No explanation needed."

She strolled over, and picked them up with considerable difficulty, and put them in her inventory.

I stood shakily, and Silica did the same, helping to hold me up. "Damn, I am a mess" I said. "Can't even stand up without assistance"

"That is called shock" explained Tohaku teasingly. "It will pass over time."

"Fuck off" I replied.

He smiled. "I think this is the only time I will accept such a rude remark comming form someone else."

"I repeat my last comment" I said. "Silica, can we please leave?"

"Sure" she said. "Should I help you stand?"

"Yeah. I would like that" I answered. "Let's get out of here."

 **I would love to hear from you guys! I am sure that Failtastic and Thunderwolf are not the only two who are cabable of typing!**


	35. Chapter 35-One Day Of Peace

**yo! Wassup! Another chapter now!**

 **thanks again to everyone helping out to make this what it is! This includes every reader out there, who looks at this story, and deems it worthy of their time!**

"Natsuki! Natsuki, wake up! Or the teacher will give you another detention!" Natsuki felt something shaking her left shoulder gently, but firmly. She didn't want to wake, for she was in a good dream, one where she and Stephen were-

She bolted up. "Forty three, no, forty two!" She shouted. The whole class of students turned in their wooden desks to face her.

'Shit shit shit. Why did I shout that out?' She asked herself sinking in her seat.

"Well, Natsuki." Said their cranky math teacher. "For once you are correct. X does equal forty two in this equation, now who would like to come up to the board and work the problem out?"

"Nobody?" He said at the lack of raised hands. "Well, then, Natsuki, it looks like you get to."

"Nononooo!" She stammered quickly. "Why don't you call on someone else?"

"It doesn't look like anyone else knows the answer." Came the response. He started typing on a tablet set before him, and Natsuki's got a notification. Her screen could be seen by the whole class. Thankfully she managed to switch the open application from YouTube to the screen writing software.

'Umm, where do I start?' She thought. Her finger hovered over the tablet, hesitating.

She saw another tablet get placed on her desk from the person beside her. She glanced at it. It had the answer with all of the work shown! She looked over to see Stephen looking bored. He gestured for her to start copying.

She reproduced the given screen, mark for mark. She added in pauses as though she were thinking about the next step. Eventually, her screen was filled, but she didn't look like an imbecile. Maybe she could go a whole day without-

"Natsuki, please see me after school for a detention for disrupting my class." Said the ruthless teacher. "And you too Stephen. I do not permit cheating in my class."

After everyone else left, I stood in front of the old man teacher, studying my shoes. Stephen stared at the teachers face, as feeling sorry for his actions never occurs to him.

The teacher faced Stephen first, and cleared his throat. "It is against the Honor Code of the school in the Student Handbook to cheat Stephen. Giving Natsuki the answer with work is against school rules. What do you have to say for yourself?" He seemed glad at finally being able to scold Stephen, as he usually corrects the teacher on his own lessons.

"It's elementary my dear teacher" he said in a false British accent. "If you actually read the student handbook, it states multiple times that our biggest priority is to get into college. It is our second priority to help others. Since I have no doubt that the top universities in the world would drool over each other for me, I decided to do the second priority, helping a fellow classmate in need."

Natsuki looked at Stephen with an odd expression. But before she could say anything, he continued.

"Besides, I didn't give her any answeres. I just told her how to work out the problem." He said with a cocky smile.

"Prove it." said the teacher.

Stephen pulled out his Surface, and opened it with a fingerprint. He then pulled up the Paint software, and presented it to the teacher. On it, said "Last edited: 2:13". Near the beginning of class. Way before Natsuki was told to work on the board. It also did not have a single shred of work on there, or the answer. It just had the steps, on how to do the work. "I walked her through it without saying a word, as you can see."

I checked my watch. "Oh, dear. Look at the time. I better go, the District Superintendent wants to present me with an award for the highest score on the PSAT test. A perfect score." I said walking out the door. "See you Monday! Oh, Natsuki, you might want to come. I hear that they have decent food there."

Natsuki ran after him, glad to be rescued.

"How did you set that up so nicely?" She asked dumbfounded as they strolled through the hallways.

"Easy. I set my Surface's clock to the time I wanted, and made a new slide. I then changed the time back to the actual one. As I said earlier, it's elementary." He said smiling.

"And that about the Superintendent?" She asked.

"That's tomorrow" he said laughing lightly.

'Devious one he is.'

* * *

The lot of us stood inside Squad Thirteen's temporary HQ, in Kora's office. He was signing some official looking documents for something or other. Once he did this, he looked up. "I am sorry for ignoring you, I was just signing a paper giving the whole squad a few days off. First we are going to the Monument of Life in the Black Iron Palace, and holding a ceremony for Lucy."

We all nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. She deserved that and more. Much much more.

"I would recommend you guys take some time off as well." he said looking at all of us.

Tohaku stepped forward with a contemplating look in his eyes. "I think that we should all join Squad Thirteen. Right after the Ceremony." he said, looking around at us.

Mayoko and Miho nodded immediately, stating their devotion to Tohaku,

"All six of you?" Asked Kora. "We will be a large Squad… I don't know" he sighed. "I would love to have you guys fighting alongside me."

"I won't." I said. "Sorry, but I don't like the Army life, I have a hard time taking orders from anyone, and so far I only have two exceptions." I gestured to Aoki and Silica. "Besides, Tohaku and I would just but heads for Alpha."

"Are you sure?" He asked, standing and looking me in the eyes.

"Yeah. I do appreciate everything you and the rest of the Army has done for us, but I have to decline." I bowed slightly. "If that is all, I would like to take Silica on a date."

"Oooohh, loverboy!" Teased Miho. "Why don't you take me instead?"

I looked her in the eyes. "She hasn't tried to kill me yet."

"Oh come on! I wouldn't have killed you, only mortally wounded!" She cooed.

I had to smile a little at her antics. "Should we go?" I asked the brown haired girl.

(Scene change)

Silica had butterflies in her stomach as she sat at a table. It had a fancy white cloth draped over it, and a candle in between her and Teika. She was wearing a little red dress Aoki helped her find earlier, with a short skirt but a modest top.

Teika seemed to be studying her as they sat, making her blush uncontrollably. Why did he have that same look in his eyes as when he was lost in thought? Did he like the way she looked? Or did he find it disgusting? Why couldn't she read him easily?

Silica remembered the advice Aoki gave her a little while ago. It was "He is a stubborn bastard, with a thing against intimacy. If you can fight through that, then he is a great person, and will cling to you like his life depends on it." Her second bit of advice applied a little better, "If he doesn't say anything about how you look, it's because he likes it. He is not good at communicating positive emotions, even though he can identify them easily. If you think he doesn't like anything, just ask. He is extremely honest with his friends, to the point of bluntness. He will tell you what he thinks, the way he thinks it."

She sat, hands in her lap. Her leg was jumping up and down silently, anxiety fueling it. The restaurant he chose was an outdoor one, with a view of the stars. It had soft candles everywhere, giving a calming feel. This calming feel wasn't helping Silica at all, though.

"Umm, Teika?" She asked timidly. She started playing with her hair, which Aoki managed to get straight. She had said that straight looks more formal.

"Hmm?" He answered, staring into her eyes, as though he were trying to catch a glimpse of her soul.

"Do I look good?" She asked.

His eyes widened in sudden shock, which was quickly masked. "Of course. I am sure anything would be honored to be worn by you. I just think you look beautiful. And much more mature." He tilted his head. "Though I think when your hair is tied in tails at the side of your head it looks cuter. I cannot decide which version of you I like more…"

Silica looked down at her skirt, blushing profusely at the slew of compliments. He had a very technical way of saying things, but it still sounded nice.

He was wearing a green tunic (since no tailor here had a suit, and the second floor ones were still captive), with darker slacks, and even darker shoes. His hair was combed straight down. He looked boyish, but still formal.

"You are staring" she squeaked, not even looking up. She could feel his gaze.

"Sorry. Does it bother you?" He asked suddenly very apologetic.

"No! Not at all!" She said looking up at his face. "I just think it odd"

"Well, it's hard not to stare." He replied, looking up to the sky. He paused for a moment, sighing heavily. "Do you think it bad that I asked you out so soon after… what happened?" He asked this without moving his head away form the dark sky.

Silica pondered for a moment. "I thought it odd, but I trust that you have reasons for everything you do."

He sighed again. "I did it to try and forward our relationship. I realized at that moment, that any of us could easily be next. And I don't want it to be you." He moved his head, and looked her intently in the eyes.

"I will be fine, you will protect me!" Silica said, waving her arms dramatically. "I am safe around you! No one will touch me!"

He smiled formlornly. "Yeah. I know. But I don't want to ignore your feelings either. So far, I tried pretending you only liked me because I saved you. It's actually proven that the saved developed feelings for the savior. But they wear off after a short period of time." He glanced over my shoulder into the distance. "Then when I realized how I would feel if I lost you, I had to face the fact that I also have something for you."

Silica tilted her head. "But you are more at ease with Aoki."

"That's because I have known her much longer." He winced at memories about irl. Before the Death Game. "Yes, it would tear me apart if she were to die, but you… ugh, I don't even know if I could recover."

Her eyes widened. 'He is saying what I have wanted him to say for a while' she thought. 'But, I don't feel ecstatic.'

"I think I love you" he finalized. "Do you feel the same for me?" He seemed intent on an answer.

Silica nodded. "Yes. Absolutely. Anything for Teika-kun"

He winced again. "No need to sound like a yandere." He smiled to take the sting out of his words. "Thanks. It means a lot to me to here that."

Silica smiled, elated to hear him say that she makes him happy.

"Ugh, we have been sitting here for a half hour!" He said, checking his HUD. "I think we should just ditch this idea."

"Of eating out?" Asked Silica, suddenly downcast. 'Is he canceling the date after declaring his love?'

"Yeah, we haven't even gotten a waiter yet. I am calling bullshit on the Best Restaurant on the Bottom Five Floors." He smiled. "I think we should do something else with the evening."

"Oh" said Silica, now aware of his meaning. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, there is a field on the first floor that is almost void of mobs." he said sending her some map data over the pm feature. "I was thinking a stroll… in the moonlight….just the two of us" his face turned bright red for the first time since Silica has known him.

"Damnit!" He continued. "I am terrible at this kind of thing!" He mentally berated himself.

Silica laughed a little, causing him to look at her questioningly. "I think it's kind of cute" she explained with a smile.

* * *

The trees around them swayed gently in the breeze, leaves twitching. Silica and Teika walked side by side, their hands clasped. His was stiff, but that was to be expected with his anti-romance thought process, this was completely new in every aspect to him.

Silica marveled the cobblestone pathway, paved before the pair. It wasn't the ideal date, but it was perfect by both of their standards.

They were content.

 **As Failtastic says, "Feed Meh!" With reviews, pms, and the like!**


	36. Chapter 36-Lifespan

**sorry for the long wait guys! Ran out of ideas for a short period of time!**

 **well, not much else to say, but please check out the ending authors note.**

We lay in a bed, staring into each other's eyes. The sheets underneath were soft, and the bed was quite comfortable, but I was ignoring that and focusing entirely at the two scarlet irises that were also looking back at me. Our hands were clasped together, and the lower part of our legs pressing against each other. For the first minute, this much contact was agonizing, but I learned how to like it. And now, it felt soothing.

Our foreheads were against each other, putting our eyes really close. Her eyes seemed to glow in the dim light with a life that I needed to see, with a life I needed to have.

A life I didn't deserve.

I have killed someone, so why do I let myself be spoiled by the niceties of life, and love? Is it my own selfish desires that fuel me now, since logic dictates I should die for taking a life? I tried to talk myself into the logic, but I couldn't. The reason was staring at me, literally, in the face.

"What's wrong?" Asked Silica, banishing the silence with her hushed voice. "You look like you are depressed."

I refocused my eyes back on her. "I feel like I don't deserve to live. Like I don't deserve you."

"Don't speak like that!" She scorned quietly. "You deserve me as much as Tohaku deserves a big can of ass wupping opened in his face!" She smiled slightly, to take the faint sting away from her words. "Just be happy for what you have."

"But I did something that goes against everything I stand for!" I said urgently, wanting to leave her right that moment, and stay away from my desires. But at the same time to hold her closer, and viciously attack any who threaten her.

"What do you stand for?" She asked intently.

"Logic! Action, and reaction! Consequences for every action!" I answered about to go on.

"Then you have upheld that principle." She said simply, interrupting me. "Easily."

"How?!" I asked. "I should die right now for my deeds!"

She sat up, causing me to follow suite. She then proceeded to slap me. Hard.

My head spun to the right from the assault. It was followed by words. "Don't you dare think about dying! Not when I have you so close to my heart! If you do, I'll…. I'll…." She took a moment to prepare herself for the next comment.

"I'll kill you!" She said, trembling form sudden anger. "Based on your logic, he killed Lucy, so he deserved what he got. Jorn was a scumbag of a person, and you ridded the world of him!"

"Silica…" I whispered, mouth agape at the emotion this girl was showing. At all this she was spilling, all because I wanted to stop living, or at least leave her.

"Jorn was a jerk who lived off of hurting others, and laughing! Taking pleasure in it! You have real friends, and really care for them deeply! You have things to live for, he doesn't, so you shouldn't beat yourself up for it!" She clenched her fists, and shut her eyes tight, tensing all over. She looked ready to explode. "And... I love you! And nobody can do anything about it! So you can't do anything stupid! Ok? Promise me! Now!" Her eyes shot open, and she glared at me. "Now!"

I opened my arms, and wrapped them around the trembling girl. "How could I refuse you? Besides, you scare me more than Aoki." I said honestly. "I can't promise not to do anything stupid. I will do whatever needs to be done to get you and Aoki out of Sword Art Online. You know that."

I stopped, not used to what came to my mind next. "I love you too. Please believe me, that you mean everything. I just don't know how to show it very well. I want you to be safe."

She was startled from the hug, but soon returned it eagerly. Her angry shaking stopped, and was replaced by a son of relief.

"Good enough, I guess." She sighed. "I don't know if I can force you to promise more than that."

She let go of me, and leaned a little ways back, so our faces were centimeters from each other. "But I would like you to tell me about your past. Ok?"

I froze up, my face going blank at the memories surfacing. My muscles tensed as I tried to keep calm.

She looked puzzled. "What's wrong?"

I let go of her, and stood up, pacing the room. "Nothing." I grunted shortly. "There isn't much to talk about." My hands clenched and unclenched as I forced myself to relax, trying to ease the tension.

"Then why are you acting like that?" She asked me, also standing. "I want to know what happened."

"I don't know if I can." I said truthfully, trying to avoid the subject I have been ignoring the past years of my life. This was something I couldn't really speak about. More happened then she, Aoki, or even Father knew about. Much much more.

"You have to tell me if you want us to progress!" She said reaching for my shirt, to attempt and stop my brisk pacing to and fro. "If you want us!"

She grabbed ahold of it, and I struggled to free myself. The shirt tore off, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Teika" she muttered, staring at my skin.

There were potmarks along my upper arms, where various needles containing various "mind enhancing" chemicals were injected. Each one was a red scar that wouldn't heal any further, reminders of the days before I knew Mother and Father. When I would be strapped to a gurney, with white jacketed and masked "doctors" all around, staring at moniters, and iv sacks.

"What…. happened?" She whispered, reaching out to stroke my arm. My left side was facing her, and didn't look nearly as bad as my right, which looked like a terrible case of chicken pox. "Who did this to you?"

I gritted my teeth. "Well, I guess I cannot hide this for much longer." I said, sighing. "But I don't want to say it."

"What happened?" She repeated. "Now!" She stomped her foot on the ground, face red with anger and frustration. "Tell me!"

I looked her in the eyes. "There was a private corporation, called R.E.C.T. Enterprises. It focused on the developments of the human brain. One day, a teenage woman becomes pregnant, and wants an abortion. Rect steps in, and gives her money for the child instead. Me."

She gasped. "You mean-"

"I haven't finished." I interrupted harshly. "I was the subject of their Evolution Department. They injected me with every drug under the sun that they thought would speed up ones' brain power, or maybe even allow us to access more of it." My teeth ground inside my head. "The normal person can only use about ten percent of their brain. I can use twenty one and a half."

Her eyes widened further, hands covering her mouth. "You went through all of that torment, for brain power?"

I nodded. "There is more, but I am going to warn you. After this, you will never look at me the same."

She shook her head. "I don't care. You are still my Teika. Nothing will change that."

I nodded grimly. "Then I guess I should tell you."

I sat on the edge of the queen size bed, and patted it beside me. She joined me on the bed, steeled for my next reveal.

"Brain cells aren't supposed to be able to go through mitosis, which is cell reproduction." I said, making sure she was following with my science lesson intro. "So they have small telomeres. Telomeres are on the edge of your DNA, and make sure it doesn't get damaged during mitosis. Whenever cells go through mitosis, the telomeres wear down a little"

I sighed. "And since my brain cells go through mitosis, the telomeres where down. When they are gone, my life span has reached its end. My DNA will start getting damaged and I will die soon after."

She gasped. Again.

"So, what you mean is, your life is cut in half because of the drugs they gave you?" She asked timidly. "That's ok! We can find doctors and stuff to fix it when we are out of this game!" She pumped her fist. "Come on!" She raised her hand for a high five, giving off a false confidence.

Smiling mournfully, I didn't reach for the hand. "Not in half. If my math is correct, and I am sure it it, I won't live to see my eighteenth birthday."

"What?!" She screamed, standing up. "And when were you going to tell me this?" She demanded.

"Hopefully never. I have been trying to force myself away from you, knowing that we wouldn't spend a long time together." I stared her in the eyes, not flinching at her anger. "But I found it harder and harder to leave, so I have been planning this conversation for a while. I was going to do it on my birthday, December thirty first. In two weeks"

Her body relaxed in realization. "Maybe you made a mistake in your calculations" she muttered hopefully, knowing me, this wasn't very probable.

"Sorry. I checked forty two times, thinking the same thing." I said.

Silica started crying, and fell on top of me, forcing me on my back. Her arms were pulled into her torso, her face buried in my chest. "Why? I finally get one thing I want and it has to have a time limit! Why?"

She started pounding her fists into my chest. I let her do this, understanding her need to vent. After about nine hits, I hugged her tight, stopping her tenth attack. She sobbed while I lay with a blank expression, which I had a lot of practice in. Her body was limp like a wet dishrag against me.

'Well, what do I do now?' I asked myself as she just sat there, crying. An idea came to me. I moved my right hand to the back of her head, and rubbed it softly, stroking from the top of her head to the top of her neck. Her sobbing slowed after a few minutes of this, and halted soon thereafter.

"Well, it's my turn to calm you down." I said jokingly.

"What will we do?" She wondered out loud. "When we get out, what will we do?"

She put her hands on my chest, forcing herself to roll over onto her back.

"Simple. Get out of here, find Rect, and figure out how to make them fix this." I said. "The best doctors won't be able to, but maybe the people who did it can." I knew that the probability of this was less than two percent, and I hated giving her hope, but it felt worse to see her in anguish. I silently pledged to do whatever I could to be with her longer than what I have been dished out. I was given an inch, it's time to take a mile.

I would find a way. Even if I have to stare Death in the eye, and rip Life from its cold, well, dead, fingers, then I would.

"Do you really think that?" She whimpered. I felt the bed shift as she turned towards me.

I looked at her. "I will do my best." I evaded the answer pretty well. "I will do whatever I have to."

She nodded, red eyes glistening with tears from a moment before. "Then let's do this" she plastered a smile to her face.

* * *

I stood walking in between two females. Silica was on my right, holding my hand. She wore a silmple yellow tunic. Her knife was strapped to her leg, with shuriken along her belt on her waist. The sunlight seemed to give her an aura that was unprecedented in beauty. The simple clothing combined with the scenery was perfect.

We were walking in a open field, with no one near enough to eavesdrop on the conversation going on.

The other female was wearing a dark cloak. She was giving me the spiel of what has gone on during the three days we took off. Argo currently already explained that the second floor has been cleared. Although the third's field boss was being stubborn, and wouldn't allow anyone to access the Labyrinth. She then told me that Squad Thirteen was requesting my help since Tohaku has made himself scarce.

"Also, you might wanna grind a little. The mobs are really jumping in power from floor to floor. There is a randomly generated dungeon called the [Queen Spider's Nest], that has a boss called [Nephila Regina]." She said.

My Latin translated that into Spider Queen. Well, original name. It's probably as big as a frigging house, if not larger, so yeah, make it female.

"Anything else?" I asked, thinking about heading to that floor.

"Let me get to that!" The Rat demanded. "If you clear the Spider Dungeon, you can form an official guild. Also, one more thing. Beware of traveling in a small group. There are thieves everywhere, stealing items from players who are unsuspecting. The Army has already tried to stop it, but failed miserably. They are looking for the rare drop from the Spider Queen. If you get it, be careful" she jogged a few meters in front of me, and turned around to face us. "You better be careful! You are my favorite client!"

"Ooh, Teika is such a ladies man!" Shouted my best friend, running up to us.

"Damnit, Aoki! Why do you have to tease me so much?" I demanded, not liking where this was headed.

"Easy, Teika!" She started to counter. "It is too easy, and sooo much fun to watch you squirm! Argo knows it too!" She laughed at my expression, which was a cross between anger and horror.

"Yup. Wouldn't want you to get trapped in the forest" said Argo. "With Aoki and Silica. No idea who would violate you first." She laughed as well. "Maybe I should join in!"

"Shut up" I growled. "This isn't funny!"

"Yeah! Don't tease Teika like that!" Defended Silica.

"You're only saying that because you know you would probably jump all over him!" Stated Aoki, pointing.

"Good one!" Argo highfived the fire Mage.

Silica's face turned beet red at that. "Nonono! I wouldn't! I don't wanna!" She shook her head violently.

"So Teika ain't good enough for ya?" Asked Argo in a fake accent. She looked to me. "How are you taking this new development?"

I reached for Silica's knife. "About to have it with a side of cooked Rat!" I said.

"Oh ho!" She liked all this bantering. "Well, aren't we in need of anger management classes?"

I sighed. "Let's go take on this Spider Queen, ok?" I asked my companions.

"Hey, what about the rest of my money?" Demanded Argo.

"It mysteriously dissapeared when you started picking on Silica." I said to her with a straight face.

"Bastard!" She shouted. "Gimme it! Now!"

I threw a small bag of coins I had just materialized into my hand. "There, that's the rest, and then some for good service. Now, if you will excuse us, I think I want that rare drop."

 **If anyone knows anything about biology that I don't, and knows I got something wrong, please let me know! Thanks!**


	37. Chapter 37-Meanwhile

**I got nobody yelling at me for my crap knowl of biology, so I must have done something right!**

"Why are we going this way?" Asked Mayoko questioningly. She didn't question Tohaku's reasoning, just wanted to know it so she could apply it in other situations. She was walking beside her two friends, through a dense forest. The trees were at least a meter wide, with dark colored bark. The large wooden pillars stood many many meters tall, and looked impenetrable. Miho was off on a mission with Squad Thirteen, probably trying for the upteenth time to clear the Queen Spider dungeon.

"Deductive reasoning" he said. "I think this is the way to that blasted dungeon." He hated spiders, but wanted that rare drop (as everyone did, even though no one knew what it was) to pawn off. With that kind of money, he was sure he could hunt down his next objective.

Mayoko nodded, picking her way around a tree. "So, how will we know if we are close?" She asked. All of a sudden, something sticky and invisible clung to her face. She scraped it off with a shriek, and held out her hand to examine what it was. Little pale white strings reflected the little light that pierced through the treetops.

"We start running into spiderwebs." He said, not looking back, but knowing what transpired. Mayoko growled slightly, not liking the teasing tone Tohaku had.

"Well, I wanna see you dodge all of these damn things!" She grumbled.

"Easy" he said, stopping. "[Congelationis], Frostbite".

He waved his hand horizontally, and she saw a faint cloud expand, moving forward. It became the size of a person as it moved, but kept going.

"And what will that do?" Asked an interested Mayoko. She had never seen this spell before, but then again, only recently learned that the spell list expands with practice.

"Simple. The cold makes things contract, so send a wall of cold in fornt of us. The temperature of that cloud is somewhere near negative forty degrees fahrenheit. It is cold enough to make the spider webs brittle, and snap in the slightest breeze" he explained confidently.

"But there isn't any wind" said Mayoko, not following his train of thought.

"Says the Mage who can control it" he teased, laughing. "Just open up your spells, and send something out, like Gust, or Twin Slash."

Mayoko grumbled, but did as she was told. Since her spells were in Japanese, she could easily read them, unlike everyone else who had Latin. She drew her knife, and held it backhanded. "[Twin Razor Slash]!" She shouted, swinging the knife horizontally, then vertically. She saw two grayish arcs speed forward, made of compacted air.

"Razor?" Asked Tohaku, hearing that attack for the first time.

"Yeah. The upgraded form of Twin Slash" she said. "Much more powerful, and it doesn't tire me at all. In fact, I could probably break the webs without your ice's help!" She laughed.

"Then why didn't you think of that?" He smiled maliciously. He knew she wasn't a planner or thinker like he was.

"Umm, uh, well screw you too!" She shouted crossing her arms. "Because I didn't! Don't tease me so much!"

"No promises" said her friend as they made their way through the ever darkening forest. After about fifty meters, it already looked like night.

"Umm, Tohaku, why is it so dark?" Asked Mayoko, keeping an eye on the ground to not trip over any rocks.

"Look up" he said, also carefully picking his way through.

Mayoko did as she was told, and raised her head. There were webs above her. Webs with strands thicker than her arm. These were strung from tree to tree, and made a great shade in the already low light. The webs scared her, a lot.

"What made those?" She asked, hurrying to catch up to Tohaku.

"Spiders" he said simply.

"How big would they have to be?!" She reached out and grabbed his arm in her fear,

"About the size of a car? No, maybe a shuttle bus" he thought, doing proportions in his head. "Somewhere in between. I think a decent size SUV."

Mayoko made a noise that sounded like a mouse caught in a cat's paws. She was really not liking this.

"Why did you bring me and not Miho-kun?" She asked. "You know I can't stand spiders!"

"I brought you because in this situation, you will be more of use." He said honestly. "If a car sized spider scares you, you will hate the boss." He laughed at her discomfort.

"How big?" She asked, stuttering.

"Argo said bigger than a house." Said the Mage in front. "Don't worry, the strategy is simple. I deal with the lesser mobs, and you take on the boss."

"But I don't wanna face a house sized spider!" She whined. "Please!"

Tohaku sighed. "Fine. But you better keep those mobs away from me so I can focus." He sighed again. "This will be harder than I thought."

* * *

Wraith was letting out some steam. This was not like him, but lately, he has felt very very stressed out. His new taidachi, meaning 'short big sword', rang out as he sparred with Kora. Wraith swung viciously, and quickly, leaving Kora no time to counter or parry, but both knew he couldn't keep up that fast of an onslaught for long.

After ten seconds of fast paced slashing, Wraith danced away to give himself some time to recover. He recently pinpointed the source of his stress to be Lucy's death. She was his one and only friend in this world, so he kind of had a right to be stressed. Sure, Kora was great, and a nice person to know, but he wasn't Wraith's friend yet. And after Lucy, he had a lot to live up to.

"You better be ready!" Shouted the captain, running forward. "I can attack fast too!"

He swiped his two handed sword horizontally, trying to force Wraith to back up. As the taidachi wielder took the steps to dodge, Kora changed from a horizontal swipe to a stab, getting Wraith right in the gut. That one blow took his hp from max to half, ending the duel.

As Kora helped Wraith back up, he chuckled. "Who woulda thought that one attack would be a critical hit?" He smiled as Wraith sheathed the long sword. "I thought I was gonna have to hit you twice! Or couple of my stabbing skill with another one"

Wraith bowed respectfully, even though he wasn't satisfied. This anger built inside him kept growing, and it was burning his insides with the urge to annihilate everything within sight, but he kept it in check. Back in his neighborhood, where gangs ran rampant, he was often the kid nobody picked on, for he never made trouble. He learned early how to control the wrath he felt inside. Although it was hard.

'Please Lord give me the strength to keep calm' he thought as he followed Kora from the Training Hall to the Barracks. 'Every day, it gets worse, the depression, the misery, the anger at the Alliance. Please help me'.

Growing up, Wraith was never very religious. He believed in God, but never went to church, or anything like that. He believed that God is God and doesn't need him to go to a building to show his devotion. But here, he wished there was a church he could go to, and a Father to talk to. Sadly, there weren't any.

Once inside the barracks, he changed from his old dark cloak to his bright new one. The white fabric felt nice on his shoulders, like a warrior fighting for the Light. Besides, black was so overrated. Why must everyone think that by wearing dark cloths, and having a massive sword they look cool? It is just so stereotypical.

Shaking himself from these thoughts, he strolled out of the sleeping quarters, and out of the building into the open third floor.

The whole map was a forest. Just one massive forest, with trees thicker than a meter wide. This made for easy sneak attacks from someone such as Wraith. He has had a lot of practice, protecting convoys in the Elf War Campaign quest. He would hide in the trees, and when someone attacked, he would burst behind them, silently felling the enemy as efficiently as possible.

Right now, Squad Thirteen was going to meet up with a band of players who are going to fight the field boss. Everyone was hoping that this attempt would finally defeat it, since it was being very stubborn. No attempt yet in two days the third floor has been available was successfully ended. Usually, it resulted in two or three player casualties.

There were rumours spreading around the Info Brokers that the game was made to be impossible. How could anyone fight a third floor boss that took on seven level twenty players? The rumors seemed legitimate, but Wraith prefers to find out with his own eyes whether Kora's idea of calling in the other mages was necessary. Hopefully, just him and Miho, the person Tohaku left behind while he went after the Spider Queen, would be able to take this stupid Field Boss out, so they could enter the Labyrinth, but maybe Argo was right when she told him that calling Mayoko, Aoki, and Tohaku would be the only way to beat this thing easily. You never know.

Miho stood outside with his arms crossed. He and Wraith got along well, since neither was a real big talker. Many days, the pair would just stand around, doing nothing. Other times, they fought fiercely, training their magic to new heights. Some unfortunate soul made fun of Miho one day. The next, he was found strung up by his feet from a tree limb over six meters in the air. How he got up there, no one could prove, but Miho and Wraith seemed a little happier around each other. People learned really quick not to piss either of them off. Really quick.

"Are we about to go?" Grunted Miho to his smaller friend.

Wraith nodded, not speaking. He took his customary position right next to Miho, a little in front and to the left of the brute. Kora exited the building they had set up HQ in, to see them all ready to go. Kora wasn't taking the whole squad with him, just Wraith and Miho. The other group was bring a pair of spear users, and three archers to provide support fire in case Wraith and Miho couldn't wrestle this thing into losing, allowing the pair to escape.

The three nodded at each other, and started making their way to the floor's Labyrinth. It was a tall pillar, just like the two floors before it. Everyone was guessing they would have to fight their way through traps, dead ends, and worse when this field boss was dealt with. Kora sighed audibly. 'This floor is going to require a lot of patience I am sure.'

The road they now traveled on was the quickest way to the labyrinth, without cutting through the forest. It was much safer than cutting through, since one could easily trip, and be swarmed by mobs easily.

Recently, the Spider Queen was defeated, by Lind and some other Army members. He became the creator of the ALF, having fulfilled the requirements to make it after that arachnid was killed. This meant that Kora and Squad Thirteen were no longer an unofficial Squad, and were sent the request to join the guild almost as soon as the Queen was killed. This brought a lot of cheering and rejoicing from Kora's men, as they now actually had a salary instead of whatever they got from drops and what Kora decided among them, although he never gave himself anything more than he gave his men.

The path ahead branched out, forking. The trio saw the five people they were meeting up with on the right path, the one leading to the Labyrinth.

"Hey, Kora. Didn't think you were coming" said one of the pikemen.

"I always make good on my promises" said Wraith's captain.

"Only brought two men with you? Trying to shovel all the work on us?" He laughed.

"We already talked about this. They will do the fighting, you are only here in case they need to retreat." These people seemed to be purposefully annoying Kora.

"Well then, let's get going" he said, leading the way along the road.


	38. Chapter 38-Nephila and Arachnus

**sorry for the wait guys! I have been rather busy the last few days.**

A massive spider stood before Kora and the rest of the band. It's name was [Arachna Regem], or Spider King.

'Totally an original name' thought Wraith sarcastically as he walked ahead of the rest. 'So the [Nephila Regina] is its mate?'

The white cloaked kid unsheathed his taidachi, gripping it in both hands in a traditional kendo stance. Miho stood a little in front of him, ready to block any attack meant for his partner. The pair studied the massive beast before them, waiting for it to attack first.

It had three hp bars floating next to its head, and being larger than a large bus, it was pretty far off the ground. It stood between the players, and the labyrinth, blocking their way. The King had already taken many lives, and Wraith vowed to avenge them.

"Shall I attack?" Asked Miho quietly, lest the monster actually heard them. As if it could understand Japanese!

Wraith shook his head, stepping forward. Miho took the hint, understanding that he was going to take a crack at it. As he stepped, Wraith could swear the things eyes flash red for a moment.

'Well, at least I have gotten its attention' he thought. He spread his legs a little past shoulder width, and had the large sword in front of him. The King will fall.

It moved, quickly. Wraith barely had enough time to jump backwards before the thing's front pincers snapped where he was.

He stopped his backward momentum, digging his feet in the ground. He then sprang forward, slashing vertically. He managed to slice one of the front legs, causing the spider to retreat.

Wraith saw a small sliver of hp dip off the monster. Good, only ten thousand more hits left, if he was lucky.

Deciding to press his advantage, Wraith ran forward, getting ready to slash again. The thing came to meet him, swinging a leg to strike Wraith. Smiling at the futile attempt, he jumped. He landed on top of the limb, and ran up it, using his [Acrobatics] skill to be able to balance in almost any situation. Take this!

He lunged forward at the last second, slashing downward with a [Vertical]. His taidachi slashed through the face, right between the eyes, leaving the Kind wounded.

Wraith backflipped off, ready for his next assault.

"Wow, you did a little damage" said his friend standing beside him. "Now my turn."

The giant ran forward while the spider watched them. It saw his advance, and met it with its own. The man threw out a punch that caught the monster unaware, knocking it back several meters. Then, he kept going, and tackled it, rolling on the ground. Somehow, Miho managed to get on top, and pin his opponent down with his legs. He then threw punch after punch at the poor arachnid's face, until it bucked him off.

He landed a couple of meters away, and was about to rush in, but Wraith beat him to it. Lunging forward, he slashed across the recovering monster's left eye, giving it the status effect of [Partially Blind]. It now had over one hundred eighty degrees of a blind spot. A place where Miho can focus on literally pounding it.

Wraith then raced to the other side to serve as a distraction. The spider's unfounded eye gleamed with malicious intent as it aggroed onto him. Wraith smiled behind the mask. 'This next attack will ensure our victory.' He promised to himself.

As Miho was about to hit the King, it charged Wraith. The white cloaked Mage stood firm, waiting for the right moment to strike. He watched his prey cover ground quickly, waiting, waiting, now!

He jumped straight up, using a little magic to make his leap higher than should be possible, even in a game. The spider, not being able to look up at that angle, kept running for some odd reason only the Cardinal System would be able to explain.

He landed right on the arachnid's back, and plunged his taidachi deep inside, injuring something important. The boss's hp dipped lower, over halfway through the first bar. 'Wow, I did hit something!' He congratulated himself.

Remembering the only thing he knew about spider anatomy, Wraith looked at his next target: the abdomen, where the heart was supposed to be.

The monster was bucking hard, trying to dislodge its unwanted rider from his perch. Wraith yanked his sword out out of its back, and jumped in rhythm with the spider, managing to land right behind it. It stopped, and looked around, trying to find him. Wraith took that opportunity to stroll along its side, to a rather exposed part of the abdomen. He grinned, and sliced his razor sharp sword through the tough flesh.

He saw a notification telling him he hit a sensitive area. The spiders first hp bar was fully depleted, and the second was halfway through. Readying another attack, he raised his sword, but his victim ran away. Now he knew how to beat this thing. Easy.

"Fire at the abdomen!" Came an order from behind them.

Wraith whipped around, to see the three archers draw their bows with arrows notched at the string.

"No! You will only aggro it!" Shouted Kora. "Don't!"

All three fired in unison, using a skill that turned each arrow into three. Wraith followed the trajectory of the nine bolts with his eyes, and saw them near their target: the pink flesh exposed when the exoskeleton was broken. Right before they hit, the King turned to the side, and they bounced harmlessly off of its hard shell.

Everyone froze in place, watching the monster continue turning until it faced the archers. It too, stopped moving, and its eyes flashed red, signaling its next prey.

Miho ran up to Wraith quickly. "What should we do? It's halfway between us and the archers, and it's much faster."

He may not be the sharpest arrow in the quiver, but he could follow a situation pretty well.

"Throw me" muttered Wraith. "Throw me now!" He then sheathed his sword, standing in the Battou stance, known for its power attacks and lightning quick follow ups.

Miho wasted no time, since the monster started moving towards the archers. The pikemen looked ready to defend them, but Wraith knew exactly how that was going to end up, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Miho grabbed a hold of his companion around the waist, and spun a few times, building power. When Wraith was released, it felt like being shot out of a cannon. Thankfully, he managed to control his trajectory, and aimed his head at his target. In the second he spent in the air, he unsheathed his sword, and drove it forward, feeling it connect with the back of the spider.

His sword was buried deep inside the abdomen when he slammed into it. Recovering quickly, he tried to withdraw his sword, but it wouldn't budge. His eyes widened in fear at this new developement. Not good at all.

As quick as Wraith moved through the air, the King spun to face him. Wraith turned to run, but was tackled by the massive being. He was thrown on his back, and saw the pincer things closing in. 'Damn I wish I knew more about spiders' he thought.

"You leave him alone!" Came a shout, and then the spider was removed from Wraith's presence. As he stood up, he saw Miho running at the spider. Wraith put two and two together, and got that the King was drop kicked. Simple enough I suppose.

He stood, and withdrew his okatana from his inventory, glad he didn't discard it yet. He chased after his friend, as Miho was sure to need support to kill this thing. And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Argo told us the most recent area that the Queen Spider Nest was in. The tall trees casting dark shadows everywhere, leaving little light to see by. Thankfully, there is no such thing as true darkness in a video game. I had my ax, Ironhead in my hand, with a brand spanking new buckler on the other arm. Aoki was a little ways back, ready to Fireball anything that snuck up on us from a flank, while Silica was right beside me. If we encountered anything, I would charge it, Ana's try to knock the enemy off balance, where Silica and I could easily finish it off.

My eyes were peeled, searching for the telltale signs of spider webs. As we were walking, I did catch a glimpse of some small ones, so I knew we had to be getting closer. It was almost noon, and I would have liked to be back before sunset. My grip on the ax was tight, since I know now the power one had with a weapon in hand, but I kept going.

A notification appeared in front of us, saying we were entering a dungeon. Smiling, I thought, 'At last! We can finally find this damned Spider Queen!'

"Hey, let's hurry up a little. I think we are close" I said, motioning to the other two.

"We are" said Silica. "I can hear sounds of fighting."

"You can?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Yeah, I put a few points on the [Detection] skill" she explained. "So I can hear better than average."

"Ahh." I said. "Well, which direction is it?" I looked around, not able to pinpoint anything.

"Forward. We were going the right way." She said, and walked ahead of me. "Come on!"

I sighed. "Well, there went your 'I'm gonna carry the team!' attitude" said a sarcastic voice next to me.

I glanced to see my old friend, with long blonde hair. She was smiling teasingly. "You should either ditch them, or trust them. Nothing in between will suffice."

"But I do trust them" I said, now walking. "And I like it when Silica does stuff like this. It tells me she could probably survive on her own, but she wants to stay with Aoki and I."

"Who are you talking to?" Asked the fire Mage from a few meters back.

"Just to myself." I called back hurriedly.

"That was close" said Nancy with a smile. "I would like you all to myself" she tilted her head as she kept pace with me.

This time, I spoke much quieter. "No thanks. I have friends now".

"But we all know what will happen when" she paused to collect her thoughts. "When your brain spirals out of control."

I nodded slightly. "Yeah, I do know. I can already hear them."

"All those voices, compounding in your brain. All the same, but different somehow, leading to mass confusion. You won't know yourself" she laughed. "But if you let me do my job, then you will never have to deal with that."

"I will manage' I said, gritting my teeth.

"Oh come on!" She skipped to right in front of me, her white dress swishing. "We all know how that will turn out!"

"Hey! Hurry up! Tohaku is fighting the Queen!" Shouted Silica from up ahead.

"Well, I better go, talk to you later" I said to Nancy.

I slid my shield onto my back, and coupled it with my battle ax. I then brought out a [Tribal Cry] tomahawk from my belt, and dashed forward. I raced past Silica, and took in the situation.

Mayoko was running around, killing little [Brood Guardian]s quickly, and efficiently, while Tohaku was toying with the Queen. All of her legs were trapped in ice, and frozen to the ground. He was laughing as stalagmites of ice protruded from the ground to pierce her soft underbelly.

I ran up to him. "Well, it looks like you have the situation under control" I said, looking at [Nephila Regina]. "I am guessing you don't want any help?"

"You would not be correct. My magic does very little damage against this kind of enemy. Would you please have Aoki torch it?" He smiled. "I would be very grateful."

"As long as I get the drop" I said.

"Yes, agreed." He said.

"Hey, Aoki! Burn it!" I yelled behind me.

"Sure thing!" She called back, and prepared a chant.

A few moments later, I was roasting some meat by a large fire in the clearing. I had chopped some logs down, and piled them in the center where Aoki lit them. Tohaku had silently handed over the [Spider Fang] to me, and I planned to craft Silica a better knife than what she had, since I was sure the [Wolf Fang Knife] wouldn't work out well for much longer.

When I had judged the meat to be finished, I passed them out on plates I had gotten from Agil a few days ago. After everyone had gotten a plate, I noticed we were one person short.

"Hey, where is Miho?" I asked after I swallowed a piece of meat.

"I left him to fight with the ALF, since they needed an attack Mage for a little. We will be joining them shortly." He explained. "We wanted to do this quest to further ourselves in the Elf War Campaign Quest"

I nodded. "I have been thinking about joining that one, does it give decent xp and col?" I asked.

"Decent, but it continues through floor nine. If you don't like collection quest after collection quest, don't join it." He said mournfully. "Just grind."

"Hrmph. Well, ok." I said. "I guess there will be more quests along the way."

"A lot more" he said. "This is a MMORPG."

"Touché" I said, and continued eating.

'I wonder how Miho and Wraith are doing up right about now.'


	39. Chapter 39-Another Day in the Life Of-

**sorry guys for the wait, I have had no internet access the last few days.**

 **fail-kun is fam!**

 **if you haven't already, check out his Demon Slayer: Souls Of Fire fic. It's one of my favorites out there.**

 **thanks for reading! Below there is a review box, a follow button, and a favorite button! Use them liberaly!**

I sat, rubbing my eyes forcefully, trying to shove some wakefulness back into my body. There was a computer screen in front of me with a login page. The district had increased the security on their websites, so hacking into the grade book was now a challenge, especially since they also changed the codes for login.

'I really need some sugar' I decided, standing. I walked across the purple carpet to the mini fridge in a corner, and withdrew a Dr. Pepper, the soda with the highest sugar, and second highest caffeine content. I was addicted to this stuff, and I was sure it would kill me one day.

"Try the codes they used back when they first started really encrypting this page" said Nancy, also stumped by this. "Maybe they reverted to their old idiot ways?"

I shook my head as I sat in my purple chair. "Nope. Already tried it." I said. "Scas can tell you that there are very few possibilities left, but if I input the password wrong twice more, it will lock on my computer for one whole week, just like a damn phone or computer."

I sighed heavily. "And if I don't get in by midnight tomorrow" I checked the clock. "Correction, midnight tonight, seeing as it is one thirty am, then she won't pass for the trimester , and have to retake the classes she failed." I took a large swig from the half liter of Dr. Pepper, trying to reawaken my senses. "And if Natsuki doesn't pass the trimester, then she has to go back to Japan."

"And is that a bad thing?" Asked Nancy, sitting on my bed not two meters away. "You can still easily communicate with her, long distance over Skype or something." Sighing, she sat back up, and yawned.

"Gods, I am tired! Why don't you continue this later? Like after sleep has refreshened your mind" she grumbled, obviously tired. "You can't get anything done without a sharp mind."

"Since when do you care about Natsuki?" I asked, confused. "You are usually like 'stop talking to her! I am such a jealous brat!' Sometimes it gets really annoying."

She sat up quickly, face reddened. "I am not a jealous brat! I don't care about her, I just know that sleep is important for you to survive, and I care about your survival! And mental state! And general wellbeing!" She looked ready to snap.

"Heheheee" I laughed under my breath. "Yeah right"

"You do realize I can hear you no matter how loud you speak?" She asked, getting angry. "You shouldn't be saying things about me, since you did create me!"

"Now you make me sound like Dr. Frankenstein or something" I said jokingly.

"Well, you didn't create a body, just another personality." She commented. "Maybe even a hundred more…"

"Hey, I don't wanna think about that until I have to" I said. "Please don't bring it up."

"If you say so. Try 'Admin; Edu'" she said, referring to the screen in front of me.

I typed Admin into the username, and Edu into the password, and it came up with the error message, telling me it wasn't correct.

"Maybe" I started, but didn't finish.

"That might work" said the girl who could literally read my mind. "Try it"

I typed Admin into Username, and the password to the internet at school in the other text field, 'Education1isFun'. Stupid name, and everyone knew it, but it was still the password.

It accepted me into the grade book as a Administrator with the ability to change anyone's grades. Wow, that was too easy.

I found Natsuki's name on a dropdown list, and selected it. The only course she was failing now (thanks to my tutoring) was Computer Science, which she sucked at. Horridly.

I changed the D- grade, which was given very generously, to a C+, giving her a little wiggle room if she failed a few more assignments. Why in hell did I keep doing this? We were friends.

A few days earlier, I googled the definition of 'friend', and did a little research. What I read shocked me. Friends were people you could depend on in any situation, no matter what. They would always help each other out of anything that came up, and I planned on being a good friend, a great friend.

A best friend.

Since she was my only (real) one, so I had to treat her special. I would never admit it to her face, but I really liked being around her. And I think she knew it. We would always be there for the other.

After I made the change to her grade, I checked my emails, Skype PMs, and then shut down the pc. I then flopped on my bed, exhausted. I had been getting little sleep lately, trying to draw up a series of lesson plans of my own to help her out, and get her on par by November, but it was challenging. She was horrid at most subjects, so I started with the one I did best: Math.

I felt Sleep pulling on me, welcoming me into its warm open arms. Then my eyes shot open as I thought up something.

I hopped right back over to my computer, and waited for it to boot up. The good thing about Windows was the boot time. And just about everything else. Macs were good for graphics, but I am a Windows fan.

I opened up the Japanese School System Database, and did a mass search for her name. It took many minutes, but I found the school she attended before comming here. Her grades were A's in that school. In all honors classes.

I did a virtual tour, getting the layout of the school, and what they taught. Their courses were as strict if not more than the school I went to! Hot damn, how could she be doing bad? Some more digging brought out that her classes were more advanced then what I have taken, which was saying something, since I was doing college online recently, and going to finish the first year seven months faster than anyone else.

I closed my eyes, and pondered why she would be doing this, purposely failing.

"This is a new developement!" Said Nancy. "You need some help with all this deep thinking?"

With my eyes still shut, I said "You speaking breaks this deep thinking"

"Ok, sorry" she yielded a little.

My alarm went off, telling me to get up. My eyes opened slowly, and I realized I had drifted off to sleep.

My clock said it was Monday, September fifth. Labor Day, a holiday off of school.

I got through my routine, and walked out of the house. I waited for Natsuki outside of hers, reading through an article on my phone.

There was breeze that felt good against my face, since it was in the upper nineties still. I heard the door open, and my favorite person came running down in a white dress with flowers on it.

"This is the first time I have seen you outside of jeans" I said. Then I looked at her feet. "And inside high heels."

They were a bright yellow, furthering the overall look of a cheerful airhead.

"This is the first time you are taking me on a date." She countered, giving me a 'you wanna continue this?' look.

"It is not a date. I am merely paying for lunch around noon." I said pointedly. "I have zero romantic interests in you."

"That hurts!" She said, gasping in mock pain. "Man that is insulting!"

"Get over it" I said, trying to make the point that I just wanted to be friends. "I don't have any romantic interest, nor do I ever want to have any. Please don't take it personally."

"Well, fine then." She stated, and we started walking off. "This is the first time I have seen you without your headset."

"I didn't want any disturbances during out time today" I said, walking on.

"Oh?" She taunted. "That doesn't sound romantic at all. And what happened to the purple shirt?"

I had a million purple tshirts, and wore one everyday.

"I ran out. Have to do a lot of laundry" I said, glancing down to that black shirt. "This was all I had left, when I wen through a 'black phase'. I absolutely hate it." I sighed.

"Then I guess we first hit the clothing store first." She said, strolling a little in front of me.

I shook my head, and followed her. "You do know I only wear purple, right?"

"Well, I am going to buy you two shirts, and you better wear them!" She said. "If you don't I will… I will chase you with my shinai!"

I groaned at the threat of being beat with a kendo stick. We continued on into town, and into the shopping district, where we visited a high end clothing store. She went into the boy's section, and riffled through the shirts, looking for something specific. We spent two ours in there, and she couldn't find anything that she wanted me to wear.

"What were you looking for?" I asked as we strolled into a Yogurtland. "You spent forever and didn't get anything."

"There is a specific color scheme I want you to wear, but they didn't have it!" She grunted, not happy. We got the largest bowl size, and filled them. In her case, she got a good six inches from the top of the little paper bowl, defying the laws of physics.

We sat at a bench, just eating in the heat. It was nearly twelve, and lunch was pushed back to one, so we could hit a Card Game Store.

"So" I said. "I noticed you go to a great school in Japan."

"Yeah" she said, eating the ice cream substitute.

"And your grades are fantastic." I went on.

"Yeah." She stopped eating and looked at me, guessing where this was going.

"And your grades here are subpar." I finished. "Any explanation?"

She returned her attention back to her spoon, and shoved it in her mouth. I saw this as trying to avoid conversation, but gave her the time. When she finished swallowing, she looked back at me.

"Promise not to laugh?" She mumbled, her eyes pleading.

I nodded, ready.

"I can barely read English." She looked down at her knees.

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Yeah." She looked back up at me. "I didn't want you to think I was stupid, 'cuz I know you can speak and read Japanese almost as well as a native, and-"

I interrupted her rambling. "I can easily translate the teacher's lesson plans into kanji if you want"

Her eyes widened. "No, I wouldn't want to be a burden" she waved her arms. "This is my fight."

"We are friends. This is our fight, senpai" I quoted one of her favorite anime, Strike the Blood.

"How easily" she asked.

I pulled out my phone, and spoke to the black screen. "Hey Scas. You know my Google Glass set at home? The one I modified to read Japanese and translate into English?"

"Yessir bossman, I am now making modifications to do the opposite," said my AI. "Anything else?"

"What?" Asked Natsuki. "You needed a filter?"

I nodded. "Not now Scas. Thanks" then I turned my attention to Natsuki. "Yeah, I couldn't get the difference between the characters in kanji, so I created a filter. After that, it took me two weeks to learn the reading language, so I am sure you can do it in a month before the trimester finals."

She smiled. "Thank you.". Those two words felt better than the accomplishment when I finish writing a complex code program.

* * *

I watched the memory in my head while laying down. My friends, Silica and Aoki were asleep. It was past midnight, so I couldn't blame them. The grass beneath me was soft, and I wanted to sleep, but couldn't. Too many things were zipping through my head, and more than usual.

My dedication to my friends was top, with my personal salvation second. This was obvious, but I still could not shut up the voice that wanted me to run. I would not act on this, but it was still annoying.

The average person has two voices in their head, telling them yay or nay on their decisions. I had many more, telling me their input. This got maddening at times. It wasn't just "yes, you should like Silica", it was "you should like Silica and…" or "Aoki is better because…" and stuff like that. I guess puberty plus my little brain problem really added together for a nasty combo.

I stared at the stars, and pondered this. Silica was a little ways away, since the night was hot, so I stood up without bothering the little girl. I strolled over to a tree, and jumped up into it, finding a nice perch where I sat down. After withdrawing my crafting knife and the Spider Fang, I started shaping it into a knew knife. It would have more damage than her older one, since this was from a much tougher boss. When I got the handle done, which was the hardest part since it required me to bring out sandpaper to help round it out, the system opened a notification asking if I wanted to auto complete it.

I select 'yes', and it asked what I was trying to make, with a dropdown selection list. I chose 'knife'. Since my level had increased, another selection screen appeared, with two pictures. One was of a basic straight knife, nothing fancy. The second had a leather wrapped handle, and a picture of a spider on the blade. Both had the same damage, but the one with carving in it was slightly longer. I chose it, but an "X" appeared over it, saying I did not have leather.

I cursed softly, and hopped out of the tree, ready to go into town for some of the cow hide. I was gonna get her something she would like.

 **Just so you know, I challenged Fail-kun to find all of the enuendos I put into my writing. I challenge you all the same! And no peeking at the review section for cheats! The first person to find each enuendo gets mentioned in the next chapter!**


	40. Chapter 40-Satome and Yoriko

**ugh. sorry for not posting in forever guys.i have had zero time to type each day, and put this together in that zero amount of time. yeah, totally believable.**

 **thanks for being patient!**

She watched through her crystal ball located in the center of her room. The lighting was low, but that was for the magic. If the light was too high, it would disrupt the flow of the mysterious power. She watched as Wraith drew his backup sword, another Japanese sword. She watched as he rushed to save his friend, who was struggling against the King of the Spiders. He was the one known as Miho, right? Yeah, that was it. Miho.

As Wraith plunged his sword into the back of the arachnid, she decided to do something. It was obvious they weren't going to win this fight, not without some serious help. Their fight was too far for her to help directly, but maybe she could send someone to help.

Touching the surface of the ball lightly, she commanded it with her mind to show her the position of her new target. She stared at what must have been the most beautiful female in Aincrad. Asuna Yuuki. She was the highest leveled player right now, and wasn't too far from their position. She didn't partake in the boss fights yet, but planned to help clear this floor.

Smiling, the viewer spoke a word of command. it was in a language dead for many years, and she didn't know it meaning, but she knew what it did. "Dicere" was that word. It gave her the ability to speak directly into a persons' thoughts, as though it was a voice in the back of their head.

"Go to the Labyrinth" whispered the watcher. "Someone needs help".

She saw Asuna's eyes widen at the command, as she didn't expect something to talk to her through her head. Abruptly, she stopped walking in the street, turning to her partner.

He was a dark clothed, dark haired, dark eyes boy of maybe fifteen. He carried the Anneal Blade on his back, and knew how to use it. The both of them found each other on the first floor, and had formed a party quickly.

"Did you say something, Kirito?" she asked him, questioningly.

He stopped, and turned to face her. "Nope. Why?" He asked her, his feminine features standing out on his face. "You hear something?"

"Yeah" she said, catching up to him in a few strides. Together, they continued along the street. "It told me to go to the Labyrinth. Someone needs help there." She shook her head to clear her mind, the light brown hair bouncing on her shoulders. "Stupid, right?"

Kirito laughed. "Don't worry. A lot weirder has happened in this game than you hearing voices." He started off in the direction of the Labyrinth.

"Where are you going?" called Asuna, hurrying to chase after her friend.

"Someone needs help, so we gotta go." He said simply, not turning to look at her as he quickened his pace to a run.

The watcher saw this, and grinned at how easy it was. She thought the boy, Kirito would have taken a lot more convincing before he would have gone, but this worked a lot better. Almost perfect even. She laughed at her luck, brushing a lock of white hair from her face. How could her plan be going so well? Tohaku thought he was running the place, but wait until he finds out where most of his ideas came from! He will flip!

Sighing, she sat back down on her bed, it being king sized, and softer than anything she had felt before, content to watch this next part unfold before shoving her nose back into it.

(Scene change)

In the backstreets of Tokyo, Japan, Riko was being dragged down alley after alley, running from someone.

"Slow down, Sato!" she cried to her sister, who was holding her hand in a death grip. "I can't run any further!"

"We have to, Riko!" said Sato. "They will catch us if we don't!"

Sato took a hard right, knowing these pathways like the back of her hand. The only problem was, so did her pursuers. She had to think outside of the box.

"Satome Mishima! You stole from me for the last time, you bitch!" came a loud roar from behind the pair. He was the man Sato stole a loaf of bread from every three days from the past month. No matter what he did to prevent it, she was always able to weasel past his locked doors, and around the sights of his security cameras.

"I can't go any further" cried Riko, feeling the weariness of constant running take its toll. "Please, oneesan!"

Satome looked back at her younger sister. She knew that Riko was exhausted, and to be honest, so was Sato. But she knew she couldn't stop, because that man wasn't one who would allow two starving girls to take a loaf of bread.

Making a quick decision, Sato told Riko to jump on her back, and then she took off as fast as she could.

This past time, they had almost been caught. The man had set up hidden cameras in his shop, not just the obvious ones that were easy to evade, but button sized cameras that were invisible unless closely examined.

She managed to evade her captor again, ducking into an abandoned warehouse. A few minutes later, she heard footsteps run past it, probably as the man thought they kept running.

"Riko, we are safe now" said Sato panting heavily as she set her sister on the ground softly on some cardboard.

"Ok oneesan." She muttered, "Did you get any bread?"

Sato clenched her jaw. "Sorry, I didn't." she mumbled.

Both Riko and Sato were skin and bone, with very little in the way of muscle or fat. Riko was six, and turned so the day before. Her dark hair was cut short, a little above her jaw. Her eyes were blue, just like Sato's, but Sato had very light hair. Naturally, it was white but dirt and malnutrition darkened it to a brown.

Japan was a cutthroat society, with the rich playing God. The poor took the weight of work on their shoulders, to supply the Rich with goods. Sato and Riko's parents died in a factory that made cars for the Americans over four years ago, leaving Riko and Sato to survive in the terrible Foster Home System, where most of the parents were all but forced into that job, taking the money, and beating the kids.

Sato had protected Riko from a young age, and taught her Japanese, math, and all the English that Sato knew. When Riko reached five, they started running away from each house they got to. Each time, it was the same story. They would find a source of food, and a few months later, they were caught and shoved into a new house. Each time, Sato promised she would look after Riko, no matter what.

"Hey!" came a shout.

Riko and Sato jumped to their feet, primal instinct taking over. Fight, or flight. They were a cornered animal, ready to lash out.

A flashlight beam blinded the pair. Sato reached out, and pulled Riko behind her. "Stay there, Riko." She commanded.

"Oneesan!" shouted Riko, confused. "What are you going to do?"

Sato stepped forward. "Leave us alone!" she commanded bravely, with courage she didn't really feel.

The light flicked off, and Sato blinked in its absence. When her eyes adjusted, her fears became real as she saw a police officer before her. His blue uniform and white hat sending dread through her

"Hey, I am not here to hurt you" he said softly, putting the flashlight away.

"That's what they all say" snarled the older girl. She felt the adrenaline sharpen her vision, but she couldn't lose her sense of place, in case she forgot about Riko.

"But I mean it" he said, taking a step towards the frightened pair.

"Stay back" commanded Sato, and she reached behind her to a knife she kept in her back pocket. She withdrew it, brandishing the old blade. She had stolen it a while back, but never told Riko.

"Where did you get that?" asked the younger sibling, shaking from shock at the situation.

Sato shushed her, focusing again on the adult. They were in a corner, this man blocking their path out. Sato tried her best to look scary, even though he was much larger than herself.

"My name is Yodo. Yodo Otsuka" he said. "Please put the knife away"

"No!" shouted Sato. She felt her hand start to shake. "I won't!"

"Fine then" he said. "I am not here to fight you, or to take you to another foster home" he took out a pack of crackers from a jacket pocket, and threw them at Sato's feet. "I am here to help"

As soon as the food hit the ground, Riko had snatched it, and tore the wrapper open, stuffing some of the saltines into her mouth greedily.

"Why do you care?" demanded the testy girl. "I don't get it". Even though he threw a token of peace, she wasn't going to let up until she saw fit.

"Because I am not like the others." He started. After he said that, he sat on the hard concrete floor, still facing the two girls.

"I was borne rich. My parents had more money than they knew what to do with. I probably could have never worked a day in my life, and relied on my father's company to sustain me." He said, scratching his chin.

"But I went out to buy some groceries, and saw some homeless people running from the cops. They were scared, and the cops showed no mercy towards them. I decided to try and change this place. To take away the hatred, and senselessness. Naïve, I know" he laughed at himself. "But it's the truth."

"Why should I listen to you?" demanded Sato before he could continue.

"I actually have a simple answer to that. You will likely starve to death before you get thrown into another home that doesn't care about you. I am offering you to come live with me. My wife has always wanted kids, but she can't have any for biological reasons."

He smiled. "If you come with me, I can take care of all the paperwork, and everything. You will get food, shelter, hot baths, first rate education, the whole nine yards."

(Scene change)

Sato was glad she took that offer, but look at what good it did. She was stuck in SAO, on a floor that wasn't even discovered yet. Kayaba had told her that she was going to be part of the [Elven War Campaign Quest], as a Dark Mage for the Dark Elves. It was buyable, but she was lonely.

Riko had been searching for her for a long time since Sato disappeared. Kayaba had banned the Dark Mage from telling Riko where she was, but hell; Sato didn't even know where she was. It was just floor four or higher.

Sato shut her eyes, and blocked out the pain that came whenever she thought about Riko, her younger sister. Each time, she tried to stop the tears, but couldn't. This time was the same, and she started sobbing uncontrollably.

Why did she have to be the Dark Mage? Why did she have to be put through this? All her life, she just tried to help people, and protect her sister, but not anymore. She couldn't do anything besides nudge Riko away from mob packs.

Sighing, she diverted her thoughts from Riko.

She had gathered enough intel to say that this game was nearly nothing like the SAO the beta testers played. First off, there was the magic. Obvious, but in the Beta there wasn't any magic. Just sword skills.

Second, the mobs were much much harder. In the Beta, the players got to floor eight before the month long early release closed, but now it's December fourteenth, and only floor three is unlocked. Of course, that was when dying was allowed, but still.

Also, she knew that Kayaba was playing. He had told her about being Heathcliff, the best player in the game so far. He just formed the guild called Knights of the Blood Oath, or the KoB. But she couldn't tell anyone. He had blocked certain words from being used when she communicated with people.

All in all, this game was going to take forever to beat. Even with players like Kirito, Asuna, Heathcliff, Teika. Hell, even if the mages band together, Kayaba said he would just increase the difficulty to make it fairer. Like when he learned a level ninety boss, [The Fatal Scythe], got blown to bits in one attack by Aoki, the Fire Mage, he flipped. Sato smiled at that memory, of how he was rushing through his [Admin's Menu] to make the game harder.

Her thoughts returned to Riko. How would she survive much longer? She hates people, and would never willingly join any guild or party. If Sato wasn't there, she might accidentally kill herself by rushing mobs.

Sato looked into her Crystal Ball, trying to find a solution.

 **yes, i added yet another oc. deal with it. i doubt they will be the last.**


	41. Chapter 41-The Army

**I AM BAAAAAAAAACK! I told you I am not dead... yet... I'm watching you Failtastic...**

 **well, in the time I was gone, I got a million follows and favorites for this fic! That is awesome! Let's try and up that number!**

 **also, I'm gonna stop typing "I do not own (insert character name here), Failtastic does" and such, I'm just gonna assume u already know that.**

When we arrived back into town, I immediately headed for the first npc I saw. "Hey, you there" I said to the bot. The man turned, and gave me a blank stare. "Are the craftsmen back?" I asked him, looking into his eyes, as if I could judge his answer.

The man's face lit up. "Why yes, young traveler! Your efforts saved these men and women from slavery, thank you!" He said, bowing deeply to us. "John Tanner wants to see you, just so you know"

I nodded my appreciation, and headed off. Silica and Aoki were trying to find a hotel room for us to crash in, since it has been a very stressful day. I wandered towards the inn, and opened it. Walking inside, the familiar scent of alcohol, urine, and body odor met my nose. I then looked around the dark room, and saw the man in the corner, with the cloak. He had a green exclamation mark above his head, stating I finished the quest.

I sat across from him on the rotting booth, my plain black shirt screaming at me for the filth it was now touching. "I returned the craftsmen." I said simply, wanting to get out of here. This place felt different. Not in a good way.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up sharply; I was being watched.

"Yes, good job" he grunted, reaching into his pocket, and withdrawing a pouch of jingling metal. "Here is your reward. Share it with the rest of your group." He tossed it lightly into my lap.

I nodded. "Thanks" and stood to leave.

"Hey!" I heard from my left, the direction of the other door. "Stop there!"

I looked and saw three men in a green uniform march towards me. Instinct and experience told me to run, but my mind said to play this by ear.

"What seems to be the problem, officer?" I said, a small joke to break the ice.

"It's corporal. Corporal Aiken" shouted the man in the front of the trio. "You received a reward from a quest in the Army's territory. We demand you pay taxes on that."

He seemed extremely cocky. I gave him the blankest stare I could give him, and said "So let me get this right, corporal. I worked hard, to clear a Field Boss, and you want to piggyback on my hard work, and take my reward?" I raised one of my eyebrows, acting confused.

"The Aincrad Liberation Front works hard to ensure your safety, by being a large part of the frontline force!" He proclaimed loudly, his silver armor and green cape making him look larger than life. "We require your support to continue guaranteeing your safety"

I froze, knowing what that statement meant, 'guaranteeing' my safety. My legs bent slightly, ready to leap into an all out sprint. But I was going to try one more tactic. "I already support the Army." I said. "Ask Squad Thirteen. I join them on many raids in the dungeons, and give them all I earn."

The man who called himself Corporal Aiken laughed, and nudged his to comrades, who were also barking with mirth. Confused, I waited longer to run.

"Squad… Thirteen?" He said, patting my shoulder. "Good joke man, they barely count as a Squad!" He laughed so hard. "The only thing keeping them from being disbanded is the fact they have friends in high places!"

This set me off. "What?" I said, ice in my voice. He did not just say that.

"Exactly! One would think that wouldn't matter, since my group, Squad Three, brings in more money, and clears more of the dungeon, but they are hanging on by a thread!" He laughed. "Their leader is more of a woman than a man, always letting his squad do what they want! Gods, you never saw that before?"

I was quicker than lightening, taking his hand on my shoulder, and flipping him over, onto his side. His men drew their swords, but I leapt straight backwards, withdrawing my shield and battle axe.

"He is more of a man than you will ever be. He doesn't bully people into helping him, he asks nicely, or not at all." I growled.

"You did not just do that" grunted Aiken, standing. "This will make you a wanted man" he drew a one handed longsword.

I smiled. "You insulted one of the few people I call friend. I am very tenacious, and will defend their name into my grave. I challenge you to a duel to [Half Loss]" I sent the appropriate Duel Request.

He laughed. "Accepted!" He slammed the "x" button, accepting the challenge. "Get ready to be defeated!"

Both of us stood firm, waiting for the sixty second timer.

"Teika-kun, where are you?" I heard as the door behind me opened. I glanced backwards, and saw Silica and Aoki walk through, looking for me. When Silica's eyes locked with mine, I saw emotions flicker across her face as she took in what she saw. She went from confusion, to comprehension, to fear, to anger.

Oh, great.

"Zero. Battle begin" I heard, and had just enough time to whip my head around to see Aiken rush forwards in the small space afforded by the bar's chairs and tables.

His sword sunk into my gut, my hp taking a huge hit. He pulled the blade out as I stumbled backwards, and tried to strike me with a [Vertical], but I raised my shield, taking the hit on the thick wood.

His sword bit into the wood, stopping in place. This is why I love a wooden shield.

"Damnit" he said, jerking the blade, trying to free it. "Damnit!"

I caught my breath, and stood erect, looking him in the eyes with a cold stare. I raised my heavy ax over my head. As I swung, he let go of his stuck longsword, and backed away the few meters he could.

I walked slowly to him, and discarded the shield to the side. This was unacceptable. He dropped my hp to sixty three percent in one hit? My battle performance was terrible.

He was about to move to the side, but I threw my axe overhand, and it stuck him in the arm, cleaving the limb off, and biting into his armored body. He fell to the ground, stunned by this development.

"You should really upgrade that armor of yours. I didn't even throw that hard." I taunted, and grabbed a [Tribal Cry] from my belt. "But, either way, you would have lost."

I grinned sadistically as the ax left my hand, biting into the exposed neck of my victim.

* * *

I handed the vendor some money, and took the leather from him, placing the valuable yet abundant item in my inventory.

"So what was that all about?" Demanded Aoki. "You scared the shit outta Silica!"

I looked my friend in the face, giving her a certain look. Realization dawned on her face. "Oh" she said. "Umm"

"What?" Asked Silica, never seeing that face before. "What's wrong?"

I looked at her, and said "It's very complicated, but can best be explained by Aoki" I started walking towards the edge of town, since they couldn't find a place to stay that has a roof. I hear Aoki whispering into Silica's ear, and her sharp intake of breath.

"So, what was the leather for?" Aoki asked me as we chose a tree to sleep in that night.

I smiled slightly, saying "A surprise"

"For who?"

"The person who I have neglected severely" I said, looking at Silica.

"You haven't neglected me!" She said, taking a few steps towards me, but I took a step back, breaking eye contact.

"Yes I have, and it's very hard to deny it. But I refuse to do so now" I clenched my jaw in self-anger. "It is unacceptable I did that to you, leading you on only to give you a cold shoulder."

I reached up into the tree, and pulled myself up from a low hanging branch. I then reached down, and hauled up my two friends by the hand, where they could choose a comfortable branch. When I found one, I sat on it, and some rope fell in my lap. I looked to see Aoki tying herself in with another length. She saw I was staring, so she explained, "This way we don't fall out by accident". I nodded.

I saw movement in front of me, and looked to see Silica, sitting on the branch, scooting towards me. She looked very uncomfortable, up this high, since the only sturdy enough branches to hold us for long were a little higher than three meters.

I sighed, and couldn't help smiling at her as she inched her way towards she was within arms reach, I grabbed her arm, pulled her the final length, and spun her around, placing her in my lap. She squealed at this unexpected movement, and I could tell she was blushing with the sudden contact.

"You uncomfortable?" I asked to her, as her body lined up with mine.

"No" she whispered, not trusting her vocal chords very much.

"Good" I said, resting my head against the bark of the tree.

I felt her breathing as it became rhythmic, and I knew she was asleep. I moved my right hand out from under her and opened my menu, searching through my messages. Earlier I could have sworn I got something. After a moment, I found it.

Sender: Argo

Message: "The Army is turning corrupt. They are striking deals with the Alliance, and not fighting anymore. Rumors have it that soon, the Army will be hunting the Mages"

I sighed, the pm confirming what had happened earlier at the tavern. Now that the Army is compromised, the only safe people to be around are Squad Thirteen, which I was sure wouldn't turn on us, and the people who I still didn't trust completely: Tohaku, Mayoko, and Miho.

I heard Silica moan as she was close to waking. I quickly closed my menu, and sat still, heart pounding.

"Teika-kun?" She whispered. I barely heard her since she was facing the other way.

I couldn't restrain myself from saying "it's just Teika."

I heard her intake air to apologize, but I squealed her firmly, beat lightly, with my left arm, which was wrapped around her stomach. "Don't speak" I said. "Just lay there."

I felt her tense, and the relax in my arm.

* * *

The next morning, Silica and I were walking through the forest, looking for some berries to pick. Our feet crunched on the ground, all the leaves having fallen since winter was coming. We weren't speaking, a little embarrassed from cuddling the night before.

I saw a bush with bright berries, and started heading that way. "Hey, you've traveled with Haru, that alchemist, right?" I called back, studying the berries. They were plump, and reminded me of small cherries.

"Yeah, but I don't remember much" she said, now by my side.

"Well, do you remember anything about these?" I picked one, and eyes it closer.

"No, but she did say not to eat anything you don't know" Silica warned, watching me carefully.

"Eh. How else will I find out if it's good?" I said, tossing the berry into my mouth. When I chewed, the juices were sweet, but foreign.

"I think it's fi-" my hp bar flashed yellow, with a small lightning bolt under it. 'Shit' I thought, as I fell over, paralyzed. Then my bar flashed a second time, four purple bubbles appearing next to the paralysis symbol, and my hp started dropping, about one percent every three seconds. Damnit.

The math rushed into my head, telling me how long I have to live. Three seconds, one percent. One hundred percent times three is three hundred seconds, so I have a little less than five minutes. Damnit.

"Teika!" Shouted Silica, crouching at my fallen, immobile body. "Get up!"

I tried to speak, but nothing worked. If this wasn't a game, I would have been afraid that I would have soiled myself.

She stood up, and shouted "Help! Help!" She called this out into the forest, the wooden trees absorbing her voice.

"Silica?" I heard, and a familiar white-haired girl met my vision.

"Haru! Help! Teika has been poisoned!" She said, rushing towards the alchemist.

She looked at me, and scowled. "What happened?" She asked, a little annoyed.

"He umm, ate a random berry" mumbled Silica.

"So he is dying from his own stupidity?" Haru barked out a laugh. "I will fix it, but only because he tips well".

A few minutes later, we were standing in a circle, Haru glaring at me. "You had to try and kill yourself, huh?"

I took her stare head on. "Yup" I said, nodding. "You see, I had this urge to eat the first poisonous thing I saw."

I sighed. "No, I didn't do it on purpose, I didn't think it would take my life down that fast. I mean, I have sixteen hundred hp."

Haru whistled at the large number, but I continued. "It must be a powerful poison if it was going to kill me in five minutes."

She nodded, not letting up on the death stare. "Well then, you're extremely lucky I just happened to be in the area, or else you would've had to face Silica's wrath in the next life, and that I think we both know is something nobody wants to see."

I nodded solemnly, and Silica called out "Hey!"

I then had a thought. "Can you harvest some of that poison for me?"

I saw a light fill her eyes. "Sure, how come?" She walked over to the bush which held the small fruit.

I pulled out a knife from my belt, the blade adorned with carvings of dragons. It was a white knife, with brown leather wrapping. "I wanna coat this in the poison, or soak the sheath so it keeps replenishing the blade every time she puts this away."

"That is what the leather was for?" Demanded Silica, a fire alight in her eyes. "So you could make a knife?"

"Yup. I thought you needed a new weapon, so you wouldn't rely so hard on Aoki and I, since we deal much more damage." I explained. "Soooo, one night I just walked into town, and asked for a tanner."

When I finished my lengthy explanation, Haru glared at me again. "Can I frigging leave now?" She seemed very annoyed. "I kind of have friends I travel with, who DON'T REQUIRE ME TO GIVE THEM AN ANTIDOTE TO A POISON THEY WILLINGLY INGESTED"

I laughed. "You could've left at any time!"

I barely dodged out of the way as her fist tried to have a date with my face.

 **we all like it when someone tries to beat us up. Ask Failtastic. He should know.**


	42. Chapter 42-New Change

**and another chapter! Hope you guys love this thing!**

 **read Failtastic's series! Just do it! It is awesome! Do it!**

 **i am currently in the market for a Beta who can easily keep up with my random writing times, and is great at catching any inconsistencies. My other one quit, cuz he is a junior in high school, and junior year is super hard.**

 **im watching you Failtastic... I'm watching you...**

Wraith, Miho, Asuna, and Kirito sat at a table in a restaurant. The place was well lit, and had a solid reputation among the newly formed Clearers group, whose job it was to beat the Floor bosses all the way to one hundred, and to clear the death game, Sword Art Online. Kirito and Asuna had shown up just in time to defeat the Spider King before Wraith and Miho were killed by the boss. They had impeccable timing.

Wraith pulled a hood low over his face before taking off his mask. The only person in Aincrad who knew what he looked like was Kora, and he planned to keep it that way.

"Well, how about some introductions?" Asked Asuna. She was a dirty-blonde, almost brown haired girl with features that turn every guy's head, from an hourglass figure to having a doll-like face. She was always polite, except to her companion, who she seemed to get anger with for being himself. "My name is Asuna".

"I am Miho, my friend here is Wraith. He doesn't talk, but knows American and Japanese Sign Language." Explained Wraith's massive friend.

Asuna nudged Kirito in the side, who suddenly had a coughing fit. "Yeah, sorry. I'm Kirito" he said simply.

Wraith paused at that name. He had heard it before.

He quickly opened his menu, and sent the both of them friend requests. Looking surprised at the sudden motion the cloaked figure was giving off, they accepted. He sent that a message.

Recipient(s):Kirito; Asuna

Message: "what level are the two of you?"

After they received the message, Asuna looked up from her menu. "Why do you want to know?"

Kirito sighed. "I don't see a problem with-"

"Please be quiet while the Grown Ups talk" mocked Asuna, glancing at her friend with a smile to take the sting from the words. "It seems weird that people we just met are asking for our strength"

Wraith typed "You took down the Spider King easily, compared to us, and Miho is a Mage. You must be powerful in order to do so. Also, rumors are spreading about a pair of people being the strongest in the game. A male, and a female"

Asuna's eyes widened. "Why hadn't we heard these rumors yet?" She demanded.

"Excuse me, is there a problem?" Asked a man in glittering silver armor. He was right next to the table, holding his still sheathed sword.

"No sir" said Asuna, putting on a smile. "There isn't anything to worry about"

Wraith felt his eyes squint through his helmet. "What is your name, miss?"

"Yuki" she said immediately, still smiling. "Why do you want to know? Gonna send me a friend request or something?"

"No, just looking for a pair named Asuna and Kirito. The Alliance needs their help" he said. "If you see them, please tell them we wish to talk" he walked away, armor gleaming in the light.

Wraith let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in a sigh of relief. So it was true. This pair were the highest leveled players in Aincrad.

As soon as the man was out of earshot, Asuna's face turned deadly serious. "I am going to have to ask you to not tell anyone who we are" she said, staring at Wraith throughnhis hood.

Wraith typed "I did not plan on it. I am not a fan of the Alliance, as they have killed my best friend. All I care about is enacting justice on their asses, and settling the score"

Asuna read the message and sighed. "That is wrong, you shouldn't want to kill just because your friend died. You should-"

Kirito interjected. "I understand your point of view" he said, a musing expression on his face. "But, you should try it differently"

Wraith looked at the both of them, not understanding the differing ideas.

Asuna took the metaphorical ball Kirito had offeredand ran with it. "You should tell the Army. They keep the HDA in check"

Wraith nodded, but again, Kirito spoke. "Nope. Argo told me the Army is no longer reliable. They are starting to think the same way as the HDA."

Asuna looked at her friend, who was surfing through his menu. "And why didn't you tell me this earlier?" She demanded, a scolding expression on her face.

"Because I just got the message" came his answer. He showed her the time stamp of just a minute ago.

Asuna grunted slightly, but continued "Then surely there is a guild willing to stand against them"

"Willing, yes. Capable, no." He shook his head. "As of yesterday, the Alliance is the most powerful and influential guild in Aincrad. All of the small guilds would have to join together"

Asuna thought. "Or…."

Kirito heard the one word, and the meaning behind it. "Actually, that might work."

"Umm, what?" Asked Miho, also speaking for Wraith.

"We have a friend who is in charge of a guild called the Fuurinkazan. They are all about samurai beliefs, like chivalry. If we prove that the HDA is doing more harm than good, they could lead the resistance against them!" Asuna smacked her fist into her open hand. "Kirito, you're a genius!"

"I try" he said, sipping a drink.

* * *

We had convinced Aoki to give us some alone time, just Silica and I. We were sitting beside a lake, watching the fish jump in and out of the surface. We were less than a half-meter apart, but the distance felt like miles for some reason. Time was slipping away, and I still hadn't felt like I had made up on my promise.

"Teika?" Silica said quietly, almost as though she didn't want an answer.

"Hmm" I responded, turning my head towards her.

Her face remained glued to the lake. "Do you…. umm…. like…. uhh… big breasts?" a flush reached her face as the last two words were rushed out.

Not understanding the reasoning behind this, Teika spoke. "Why do you ask?"

Silica's face flushed further to a deep crimson. "My mother once told me that boys only care about big breasts and thin bodies"

I laughed. "Well, I don't really care much for breasts" I said, looking up at the sky. "My dream companion is nice, kind, gentle, but not afraid to do what is right. You are that dream companion."

"What about Aoki? She is much nicer and more confident than I will ever be" she lowered her head to stare at the ground.

I reached over and grabbed her hand. "Aoki is my best friend. You are more. You may not know me as well, but that will change with time"

I could see her fading cheeks rise in color again as my hand touched hers. "I will fight to the death to protect either of you, but you I have different feelings for. Feelings I still don't fully understand, and doubt I ever will."

I scooted over, and sat right next to her. "You are the first person I have kissed, the first person I said that I have 'liked'" I made it obvious where the air quotes are in that sentence.

I used my left arm to wrap around her shoulders and to pull her into leaning against me. "I even might love you"

Her head shot up at these words and accidentally hit my nose. As I fell backward, eyes watering from the impact, she spun around, already saying apologies.

I laughed as I rubbed the tears out of my eyes. "Wow, so I finally confess to you and this is what I get? Now I know why love is so hard to find!"

"I'm so sorry Teika!" She bowed in front of me.

"Get up, there is no need to say sorry" I said. "You think you do everything wrong! Man, it sometimes gets very annoying!"

I heard her intake of breath for another apology, but I grabbed her shoulders, and heaved with all of my strength. She flew into the pond.

I heard her shriek the whole way, and the splash as she hit the water. Laughing, I walked to the water's edge, and watched her flail.

"I can't swim!" She screamed.

I laughed harder. "The pool little more than a meter in depth! Stand up!"

She stopped flailing, and I could tell she tried standing. "You…. you….. JERK!"

She looked like she was about to explode. She started stomping as fast as the water would allow her, and she made it to dry land pretty quickly.

She raised a fist, and punched me in the face, which I deserved.

I fell on my ass, since she does know how to punch, and kept laughing.

"That was funny, though!" I said, standing back up. "But I did deserve that hit"

She looked ready to do it again, but when she saw the serious look on my face, she cooled down quickly. "What's wrong?" She asked.

I pointed above her, where a little yellow arrow that is supposed to be green was pointing at her head. "Well, umm…. your cursor is yellow" I said. "The system must have thought that your punch was an actual assault."

"Well, it was!" She said, crossing her arms.

"You are so adorable when you're angry" I said, looking in her eyes. "But, we are going to have to stay away from society for the time it takes this cursor to go away. I don't want your reputation ruined"

She looked a little sad. "At least I can spend a little more time with you". She muttered.

"Yeah. That's a plus" I responded, taking her hand in mine.

* * *

"Dear Kora, Captain of Squadron Thirteen,

I am sorry to report that your squadron has been underperforming as of late. You already have been informed of the new leadership that has been instated as Head of Guild and the Circle of Top Generals, and they are putting higher standards on the performance of our squadrons. You have been warned before, and have not complied with the demands set by the Circle of Top Generals, so therefor, not only are you removed from the Guild, but all who fight under the Thirteenth flag are as well.

Sincerely,

Richard Fickarly, First General in the Circle of Top Generals."

Kora read the letter presented to him by the silver clad knights twice through, to make sure he was understanding this correctly. Now his people didn't have a place to call home. Now his people don't have superiors to call upon for help. The Alliance doesn't accept ex-Army members, no matter how chummy the two guilds have been getting.

"You have been given one hour starting now to collect your things and leave" said the lead knight. They didn't have any markings, but Kora knew they didn't hail from the Army.

Kora nodded solemnly, understanding. He was being kicked out of the group he had worked so hard to join. He stood, and shouted "Squad Thirteen! Line up for inspection!"

He heard rustling, and a lot of banging and and cursing as his men quickly tried to follow the command. He brushed past the silver knights, and walked out of the office he was soon to leave for the last time. Once in the Common Room, he saw the nine men he had with him right now lined up, standing at attention. Their backs straight, their arms unmoving at their sides, heads raised above parallel. They looked every part the disciplined group they were.

"Men" he started, walking up and down the line, staring each and every man in the eyes. "You have fought valiantly, bravely, and with teamwork."

He stopped in front of Jax, his second in command. "Some of you fought to keep this team together, for better or worse"

"Sir, permission to speak freely?" Jax asked suddenly, interrupting Kora.

Kora sighed sadly. "Granted" he said, even though he knew exactly what was about to be asked.

"Why in the name of hell are HDA assholes in our Squad Room?" He asked, spitting the slander.

"Watch your tongue you filthy brat!" Said one knight, drawing a sword.

"How about you make me, Iron Man" Jax stepped forward, reaching behind him for someone to bring him a sword.

"Jax, stand down." Kora said.

"But he-" started his second-mate.

"Jax." He said coldly. "Stand down"

Jax stepped backwards, but didn't let the fire in his eyes die down.

Kora turned to the knights. "If you speak badly to my men again, I will let them attack you"

"Are you sure they can beat us? The best guild?" He laughed.

"Since they fight Bosses without backup, I would say yes" Kora said with a straight face. "I would back off, or I will take the first swing"

The knight grunted. "You better watch it, or the HDA will have your head"

"You better watch it, or I will have your head" Kora turned away from the knights.

"We have one hour to leave. Grab your belongings, and go. Go become a merc, or a Clearer, or whatever. Squadron Thirteen does not exist starting now"

Everyone gasped. "Captain-" started Jax.

"My name is Kora." He said, cutting Jax off. "Not an officer.

 **Well, that just happened. I want ur reviews! And ur messages!**


	43. Chapter 43-Cats in the Cradle

**back again!**

 **btw, the chapter title is a song name...**

 **thans to my awesome reviewers, who have helped me bloom this story into the b.s. it is now! Also, thanks to the twenty people who favorited this, and the twenty nine people who have followed it!**

 **please leave a review! I want your comments, complaints, concerns, all of the above, or just you trashing the Demon Slayer series, by Failtastic...**

 **seriously tho, it's a good fic. And you will find out more about a few characters I use, but are his! I just borrow them!**

My legs pumped, carrying me across the great city. The morning was crisp, and cool, despite it being August. The scent of rain was strong, as the forecast predicted torrential downpours today, but I didn't care. I had a waterproof jacket, waterproof earbuds, and my Apocalyptica.

The best way to keep one's mind working at peak efficiency is to keep one's body working at peak efficiency. If I wanted to work harder at my studies and computer sciences, then I must tone my body, at least a little bit.

I hated exercise. The uncomfort of the muscles as they flex, relax, repeated motion burned into my twig like limbs. But, working out was as much of a mind game as it was a physical game. If I believed I could run two miles in thirty minutes in my first try, then I was sure I could.

The pathway I was taking through the park was long and winding, with potholes, bumps, and sharp turns along the way. This required me to have constant attention dedicated to watching this path, the stone snake trying to force me to give up. Again, working out is a mental game.

As the music blared in my ears, I felt my legs start to burn in my jeans. They were starting to tell me that they didn't like workouts. At all. They preferred sitting down, doing nothing.

As my mind diverted attention to squandering the flare of discomfort, I didn't notice a large crack in the ground. My foot landed wrong, and twisted at the ankle.

I fell on my face, stone scraping my outstretched hands, and face as my forward motion decided to mock me. People wonder why I don't ever try exercise.

I rolled on my back, and clutched my foot, biting my tongue and cheek to keep myself from screaming out as the pain. Modern people, myself included, have zero pain tolerance.

"You ok?" Asked a familiar voice, jogging up.

I opened my watering eyes, and saw Natsuki, looking worried. I nodded once, and rolled over onto my stomach. When I tried to stand however, I lost balance due to not being able to put weight in my right foot, my dominant foot.

She lunged forward, and grabbed me, swinging my around to fall on her shoulder, not on the ground again.

"Thanks" I muttered, my arms wrapped tight around her to keep from falling.

"No prob" she answered, just standing there. "Need help getting home?"

I thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think that would be nice" I unwrapped my arms from her torso, feeling that the contact was uncomfortable. "And much appreciated."

She smiled. "No prob"

"Arigato" I said in Japanese, meaning 'thanks'.

She helped me hobble towards the entrance of the park. "What made you come out here?" She asked, making small talk.

"I just wanted to start a little running each day" I said. "You?"

"I run every morning" she said. "Five miles every day."

"Wow. And I was hoping for two" I shook my head.

"Ha! Good luck" she said. "You probably just ran one quarter!"

My eyes widened. "Whhhaaatt?" I joked. "I thought I was nearly done!"

"Nope, no where near. Also, I was a few meters away, and you were soooo slow" she laughed at me.

The gate was approaching. When I reached it, I placed a hand on the iron bars to steady myself. The gate opens at five am in the morning for the morning joggers, and closes at ten pm.

"Well, of it isn't the lovebirds!" I heard. The voice was familiar, but as I turned, I didn't really know the person who owned it. He was wearing jogger shorts, and a white t shirt. "What made you two come here? Something to spice up the bed life maybe?"

"Shut it" barked Natsuki. "Before I remove your tongue"

He smiled mockingly. "Hey, I don't judge. If you have a fetish or something, I really don't care"

"Then can I please leave? I have a computer virus with your phone's name on it" I said, my eyes pleading.

"You wouldn't!" He challenged, laughing. "You might be the biggest nerd in the universe, but you wouldn't do that!"

I stood there, staring at him silently.

"Right? You wouldn't?" His laughter slowed down, and his facial expression changed. "What does this virus do?"

"Locks your phone forever, makes it constantly overheat, and vibrate while playing a police siren on the speaker. Also, it sends your browser history to me, so I can send it to your mother" I recited confidently.

Natsuki whistled. "I remember that one" she let out a laugh. "What did you call it again?"

"'Dies_Irea'" I said. "Day of Wrath."

She looked at the guy. "If I were you, Steve, I would really turn around right now."

He scowled. "I'm calling your bluff" he said, putting a foot down.

I smiled. "Scas, search for mobile devices nearby. Ignore Natsuki's"

A buzz came from my pocket, and I heard "done bossman" in my earbuds.

"Execute file, 'Dies_Irea'. Directory: System/System Files/My Viruses/ Mobile Viruses" I said, recalling where I put the virus on my phone. "Send executed file to the nearest device that isn't Natsuki's"

Steve's face showed an expression it wasn't used to showing: fear. "What, this is a joke, right? You're just messin' with me, like I was just messin' with y'all!"

All of a sudden, I heard a loud, ear splitting siren emanate from Steve's pocket.

* * *

Tohaku sat before an npc, playing chess against this computer. There was a strange mission, where if he won a hundred consecutive games of chess, then he would be granted an unknown item. He was on the last match, having been cocky enough to accept… and good enough to back his attitude.

The npc was sweating. 'Funny' he thought, looking at the board. 'I never thought these computers could get nervous'. "Excuse me, Laranth" he said. "But it is your turn"

"Gimme time to think!" He demanded.

"You already have had five minutes. In an official tournament, you would have lost" Tohaku drawled, rolling his eyes. The bar he was in was empty, all the customers having walked out long ago. Nobody thought he could have pulled off the ninety nine wins so far, but this was child's play. Kayaba better update the system before the whole game got boring.

'That's all this is isn't it? A game' he realized. 'Sure, its life or death, but it's still a game. Meant for entertainment.' He laughed out loud. "My, for something supposed to please, this is such a letdown"

"What you say?" Asked Laranth, the npc.

"Nothing. Just do your turn already." Grumbled the Mage. Sure, having a mind like his was fantastic, even blessed some would say. But it came with many curses as well, like the requirement to wait on others who didn't think as fast.

When the npc made his move, Tohaku didn't even glance at the board as he moved a rook into the final move. "Checkmate" he sighed. "I win"

"What?" Said his computerized opponent. "How? I am a Grandmaster at chess!"

"I guess that makes me a god" mused Tohaku, as he stood in the dingy dump. "Where is my reward?"

"Needy brat" spat the npc. "Fine, here it is".

He plucked the black queen -Tohaku's queen- off of the board, and handed it to the ice Mage.

Perplexed, Tohaku took the small carving of wood, and studied it for a moment. "What does this-"

A window popped up in front of him. It said:

Congratulations! You have beaten the Secret Quest "Trial of the Mind"!

Your reward is this chess piece (Queen's Blessing). Get a string, make the piece a necklace, and wear it. All of your party members will gain a +1.5% buff for all stats, including hp and Magic Effects. All guild members will gain +1% buff for all stats, including hp and Magic Effects.

His eyebrows raised. One point five percent? Might not be much, but that can add up quickly if there are more items like this.

Nodding in satisfaction, he placed it in his pocket. Now just to find out who can make it a necklace.

He walked into the light of the outside. He blocked the bright noonday sun with his hand, not used to the instant brightness. Once his eyes adjusted, he stretched a little, since he was sitting down for a very long time.

When he managed to pop each hip and knee, he stopped, just in case it was possible to dislocate your own joints in this Death Game.

He walked through the town, looking for a jeweler, or a generic craftsman. Neither of which were returned when they all beat the "Missing Tanner" quest. 'Well, that is bloody typical' he thought. 'What do I have to do? Save a cat from a t-'

"Excuse me, younger traveler?" He heard to his right. "Can you help me?"

He turned to see an old woman, who was standing next to a tree.

Sighing, he said, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Mr. Snuffles got stuck in a tree, would you please go up and get him?" The npc gestured to the tree next to her.

Tohaku heard a 'meow' right on time, as though it were timed…

Sighing again, he looked at the sky. 'Why do you do this?'

"Sure" he said, accepting the unofficial quest. He walked to the giant trunk, and thanked his agility build as he used [Acrobatics] skill to jump to each branch. When he reached the very top, he found a brown feline that was meowing constantly.

"Get over here" he grunted scooping the noisy thing up into his arms. He then turned, and jumped right out of the tree, a good four meter drop.

He landed, and handed the cat to the old woman. "There you go" he said.

She took him, nad looked at the cat. "This isn't Mr. Snuffles! This is his brother, Mr. Cuddles!" She exclaimed. "It seems all fifty of my cats have escaped! Hurry and find them! They could be anywhere!"

Tohaku just stared at her for a moment. "You have to be shitting me" he said. "You have fifty cats, and you let them wander off, and expect me to find them for you"

"I will make it worth your time" she said. "You will be greatly rewarded."

Tohaku sighed, and looked straight up. 'There is a reason I don't normally play RPGs.'

"Fine" he said, and started walking away. "How hard could finding fifty meowing animals be?"

As he walked through the floor, blasting any mob that dared to cross his path with some ice cold magic. The first twelve were easy, just stuck up the nearest trees, meowing. He has been on the hunt for the thirteenth all day long, and losing patience in the process.

"Hi Tohak-kun!" Shouted a high pitch female voice.

"Hello, Mayoko" he said without turning. "Would you mind helping me on a quest?"

"Sure!" She said, catching up to him. "Sorry for ditching you on the Chess Quest, or whatever. I just couldn't watch one hundred boring games."

"No problem. I am looking for thirty eight cats, which could be anywhere on the floor. Could you run around and find them?" He asked, keeping a lookout for mobs and such.

"Oh, you mean these?" She asked, opening her menu, and displaying thirty eight felines, each with its own spot.

'You can put animals in the inventory? Isn't that classified as 'animal abuse', or something?'. "Well. That seems to be the summary of my day" he said, turning around. "Please follow me"

"Okay! As long as it isn't another chess game, I am fine!" She skipped next to Tohaku.

"No, just an old woman who lost fifty cats. At the same time" he groaned.

"Fifty? I want that many cats!" She cried, squealing like a little girl.

"Who said cat?" Asked someone right behind Tohaku. He jumped, and spun, ready to send an Arctic Front at the person who scared the Jesus out of him.

He saw a whispered female standing there, hands on hips, smiling. "I heard 'cat" she said.

Tohaku lowered his arm. "Just a quest, Argo" he said, walking briskly back to the old woman's house. After he explained what happened, she whistled in sympathy.

"Well, usually the boring quests provide decent experience, especially since the Game Difficulty increased exponentially."

"Yeah. That's the only reason I am actually doing this. It will give me much more xp than grinding" he said, arriving at the little shack where the old lady was still standing.

"I got 'me all" he said, gesturing for Mayoko to release them.

She opened her menu, and dumped the thirty eight furry animals on the ground.

"Oh, you got them all!" She said, picking each one up, and examining it. "Here is your reward."

She pulled a blue pendant off of her neck, and handed it to him.

"This [Amulet of Blue] can make the wearer invulnerable to Ice type powers" she said, handing it to him. "It also boost physical damage done by the wearer!"

Nodding, Tohaku took the pendant, and handed it to Mayoko. "Here, in case we are fighting as a team, and I need to do some AOE attacks."

She nodded, and draped the next lace around re neck. "Already giving me jewelry? Wow, our relationship is certainly blooming!"

Tohaku ignored the teasing as the woman started speaking again. "Oh no! It looks like they all ran off ag-"

Tohaku was gone before she stopped speaking.

 **That's how RPGs work. Gotta love 'em.**

 **Reviews! Plz! Now!**


	44. Chapter 44-Prelude to Rebirth

**And here I am again! Heeeeeellllllooooooooo!**

 **this chapter doesn't really have a name, so I named it as a prelude to next chapter, cuz it originally was one 5k word chapter. I would love a name!**

 **thanks to Failtastic for all of his help with this fed, and the ideas he is letting me use! He gave me the idea of the date at the beginning of each chapter!**

 **read his fic! His Souls Of Fire series are awesome, and deserve to be read. Much better than this!**

23 December, 2022

I stood inside a tailor shop, on a podium. A pedestal was beneath my feet, and lights in my eyes. Aoki had convinced me to come in here and model for a player tailor, for a fee of course. Who was getting the money? Not the person doing the modeling, that was for sure.

Silica had run off to be with her friend, Haru. This left Aoki and I to fend for ourselves for the day's entertainment.

I had on a black tuxedo, with a white shirt. It was sweltering beneath the dark jacket, but I stood there, unable to see anything as light shined in my eyes.

"And here we have my brand new SunTux!" Said Troy, the Tailor. He was standing somewhere in front of me, with a few people. "It has the ability to withstand extreme cold temperatures. Also, it is flexible enough to fight in, comfortable enough to wear, yet classy! Only one thousand five hundred col!"

Fifteen hundred for a cold-proof jacket? What in the name of hell?

After a few more minutes in the jacket, I heard the words I wanted most right then: "Ok, Teika. You can step down now, and change into the next garment".

Glad for the reprieve, I got off the stone podium, and stretched in front of my new acquaintance.

"Thank god. I thought I was gonna melt" I grumbled. "What's next? A shirt that always feels freezing?"

"Nah, I made that a while ago. Now you just gotta wear this" he laughed, and held up a cloak. "This is a special cloak that increases the Stealth Duration by thirty seconds"

I raised an eyebrow. Thirty seconds was a long time for the Stealth ability to be increased by one item.

"How did you make that? My Crafting Menu is extremely limited." I said, admiring the garment.

"A lot of work, all-nighters, and luck!" He said, smiling appreciatively. He was American like me, and had come over to Japan for a vacation, since his school district was off that Friday I came over to the oriental nation. Irl, he was a hardcore gamer, but in here he decided to do something different when Kayaba revealed the Death Game to us.

"Pretty please?" He asked, winking. "I will slip you some of the money"

I laughed, and took the cloak. "Ugh, fine" I said half heartedly. After slipping it on, I closed the front, ad stood next to a wall. "So?"

"Well, since you don't have the Stealth Skill, it won't do anything" he said, stroking an imaginary beard.

"Hrmph. The downsides to being a bloody tank" I said, laughing.

He smiled again. "Yup!"

* * *

Silica had gone to see Haru. That much was true, but when Haru said that there was a change of plans, and they couldn't hang out today, Silica just wandered the first Floor. Even with the increase in the game difficulty, it was very easy to cut down the [Frenzy Boar]s that crossed her path. Even though she didn't really have a path to be going down.

Sighing, and tired of being alone, she opened her menu, and sent a private message to Aoki.

Recipient: Aoki.

Message: I'm down on floor one, wanna have a Girl's Day?

After that, she closed her menu, and looked at the lake in front of her. Floor one really didn't have a theme. It was a hodgepodge of terrains, from a swampland, to open grass, to a forest, to lakefronts. She stood before one of the larger lakes, watching people try and fish. It was kinda amusing, because the noobs were screaming every time they didn't get anything, while the pros just stood there, talking calmly to each other.

Sender: Aoki

Message: Sure. When I get down there, I'll find you on the map

Silica read the pm from her friend, and smiled. At least she wouldn't be lonely while Teika tried on clothes. Besides, Silica had some questions for Aoki.

Standing beside the reflective surface, the little brown haired girl stared at her mirror image, into the deep scarlet eyes. She just sat there, thinking about how she would phrase what she would ask of her good friend.

"Hey, 'sup" called out a familiar aggressive voice.

Silica jumped to her feet, and spun around, not expecting Aoki here so quickly. "Nothing really. You?" She squeaked, clasping her hands in front of her simple dress.

Aoki leaned on one leg, and put a hand on a hip. "Just wondering what you brought me here for" she smiled, knowing Japan culture did not like bluntness.

Silica understood the smile, and got the hint that Aoki meant no disrespect or anger to be portrayed through her voice. "Well, umm…" she started, and her eyes drew to the ground.

Aoki sighed. "Ok, what did he do this time?" She strutted forward towards the smaller girl.

Her eyes shot up at the question. "Oh nothing! Teika has been great… except I want to know how he actually feels… you know….. about us" her eyes stared at ear shoes again.

"Gods, he was right. We really need to work on that confidence." Aoki smirked at the blush rising on Silica's cheeks. "If you really wanna know, just ask him"

Silica looked up tentatively. "But I don't know if that is rude or not" she muttered. "And I was taught to always play on the safe side"

Aoki's smile deepened. "He is the most honest guy in the world. Most just want to get into your pants, I should know. I've had to break a few hands here and there when they forgot what parts of me are mine"

"Are you sure?" She asked, ignoring her comment about breaking people's hands. "Really sure?"

"Oh hell yeah!" She exclaimed. "The only problem is that he might not understand his own feelings, since the deepest he has ever gotten in his own emotions are frustration, and the compassion I show for him every day."

Looking out into the distance, Aoki got a gleam in her eye that Silica hasn't seen before. "He may not realize what the feelings you have for him are, or what they feels like, but I am sure he will be honest. That much, I am certain"

Silica's eyebrows lowered as she tried to recognize that look in Aoki's' eyes. "You love him, don't you?" She asked boldly, instantly regretting the innocently phrased question.

Aoki didn't even flinch at the question. She just nodded. "Maybe", and a sorrow fell upon her like a shadow. The darkness hidden in those eyes, heat she has seen, what she has done was instantly shown on the smooth skin, coming to the surface.

But then her features rearranged themselves, and the jovial smile returned. "But this is about you two! Not me" she exclaimed, grabbing Silica by the arm. "C'mon! Let's go shopping or something!"

A couple of hours later, both girls were running across the town of Tolka, near the border to the Labyrinth. They had already spent thousands of col on new clothing, some light leather armor for Silica, and foodstuffs. They were about to head on back to floor three, where Teika was still being worked by his friend, when angry voices met their ears.

"Excuse me, who do you think you are?" Came the shout. It was a young girl, not much older than Silica.

The brown haired female looked around the town square to see people forming a circle around something that people normally for circles around.

The little girl felt her hand being grabbed, as Aoki pushed her way through the dense mob, trying to get to the center.

"Who do you think you are, denying the might of the Army?" Came a gruff shout. "How dare you, even?"

Aoki managed to get through, and Silica saw seven figures. Three were in Army clothing, of green cloaks and heavy armor. Three others were in the silver knight uniforms of the Alliance. The final was a little black haired girl, clutching a fang in her right hand, and a knife in her left.

"Get the fuck outta my face, you overgrown apes!" Demanded the person with the fang.

"You dare-?" Started one of the knights, about to draw a longsword, but Aoki interrupted.

"What is the problem?" She shouted, letting go of Silica's hand.

"We, the Holy Dragon Alliance are on a quest for a rare item. There is only one in the entirety of Aincrad, and this young girl has it, so we are expropriating the item." Said a knight, now fully drawing his sword. "But this twat won't hand it over peacefully"

"Ok, that is typical of you 'overgrown apes'" Aoki said, gesturing towards the silver plated swordsman. "But why is the Army here? What do they stand to gain by bullying this girl?"

"The Army's concerns are not to be revealed to civilians" said one of the men, stepping forward. "Now, I am going to ask you nicely to leave"

"[Ignum Meis]" Aoki said, stepping back from the man as flames engulfed her body. The crowd backed away from the searing heat she was giving off, and even the knights backed away a little.

"I am going to demand you extinguish your flames, and come with me!" Commanded one of the Alliance.

"I am gonna count to three" growled Aoki over the crackling of her own power. "If, by that time, all weapons are not sheathed" she glared at the girl holding the knife in her left hand, and then at the knights with swords out. "I am gonna blow you so far out of this city, you might fall off the map"

"You dare-" started one of the knights.

"[Augue]!" Shouted the Mage, slamming a fireball into the bold one's chest, sending him flying off into the distance.

"Anymore dumbasses who want to see me torch them?" She said.

A little while later, Aoki sat across from the girl, whose name she learned was Riko. Silica had decided to leave, with a polite bow to the feisty girl.

"Soooo" started Aoki.

"Hrmph" grunted the girl as she stood up, and stalked off from the table, not even ordering off the menu. Aoki was pissed, since Riko wasn't even paying.

* * *

I stood alone inside a building I was renting for the day. The sparsely decorated cheap area had a bed, and a window, that's it. I was attempting to lift dumbbells. I was laying on a bench, with a sixty five kilogram deadweight trying to murder my arms. Kayaba may have gotten rid of pain, but not the massive discomfort from lifting something as heavy as you.

I pushed the bar as hard as I could muster, trying to raise it for a sixth time, the agony in my arms intense. Now I remember why I stuck to leg exercises. My sore appendages started shaking with exertion as I reached the height required of the workout. I was about to force myself to do it again, when the door flew open.

"Hi, Teika!" Called Silica as she walked in.

I lost focus, and dropped the bar on my chest, causing all of the weight to be shoved brutally out of my body with an 'oof!'.

"Are you ok?" She rushed over, and tried vainly to get the weight off me.

I waved her off, and braced my arms under the bar, heaving into the right side, while pulling on the left, and letting it topple off of me. As soon as it hit the ground, the bar (and the bench) disappeared.

I picked myself off the ground after falling less than a meter. "Damnit, Silica! Next time, a pm warning would be frigging nice!" I grunted as I stood, panting.

"Sorry" she stared at the ground.

Not able to see her like that, I reached over, and hugged the girl, surprising her. "Hey, I'm not mad." I said. "Don't be that sorry for everything!"

I held her at arm's length, smiling kindly. "How my a grace thee, in this fine winter's evening?"

She laughed a little at my antics. "I was just…" but then she choked up, and stared at the floor.

"Gods" I said, still smiling. "You're acting like I'm gonna hit you for whatever you say! Just say it!"

She looked me in the eyes, determination in her soul. "I think I love you, and I want to hear what you feel for me."

I took a step back from the power in her voice. "That is called confidence! Use it more often!" I said, laughing, and trying to dodge the question.

She softened. "Ok. But, how do you feel?"

I sat on the ground, cross legged. "To be truthful, I do not know"

She copied my movements, and we stared at one another. "Please explain?" She asked.

I nodded, phrasing my words in my head. "I only know how I feel because I have been told what those emotions are. This, how I feel, I do not know what it is."

She nodded, waiting for the rest.

"But, if I had to akin it to something I do know, I would say I feel the same way for you as I do Natsuki, just, more" I instantly regretted saying this, as it was written on her face how she felt being compared to Natsuki.

"That was a terrible description. Please ignore it as I try and fix the damage" I said, trying to elicit a smile from her forlorn face. "Ugh! Why in the name of hell is this so hard! Fine! You are like nobody I have ever met!" I started, and took in a deep breath.

"If I had to chose one person to be around for eternity, it would be you. If I had to die for someone, it would be you. I promise that I will do more than just say these words. I promise to do more-"

She lunged forward, surprising me this time, and wrapped her arms around my body. "Thanks" she muttered.

She backed away slowly, and I was about to pull her in closer when both of us received a pm.

Sighing in agitation, the both of us opened our menus, a read.

Sender: Kora

Message: Squad Thirteen has been disbanded. Come to the Black Iron Palace at the Monument of Life in one hour. I am forming a new guild as an open rebellion to the Aincrad Liberation Force. This is sent to Teika, Silica, Aoki, Tohaku, Miho, Mayoko, Jax, Norman, Jered, Wraith.


	45. Chapter 45-Rebirth

**Hhhheeeeelllllooooooooooo!**

 **how are you guys today? Ready for another chapter? Of you answered 'no', too bad!**

 **i would love it if I got feedback on any mistakes I make or any inconsistencies. Just so you know, this is a AU, so not everything will be the same (looks at the fact there is magic) although I will try and keep it somewhat similar.**

Same day.

After Wraith received that message, his first emotion was anger. The Army dared to usurp their best Squad? No wonder they are getting all buddy-buddy with the Alliance!

But then, a calm took over him at the second part, about the formation of a new guild. A guild with all of the known mages. This was definitely going to be interesting.

His eyes left his menu, and returned to an HDA knight who was trying to bullshit Wraith into giving up his katana (which he only got for really small spaces), okatana (his favorite), and taidachi (more of a power weapon than the okatana), all of which he just bought. Wraith just silently stared at the rambling man through the eyeholes in his masks. When the guy stopped for a breath, Wraith started chuckling silently.

"Are you even listens to me?" He demanded indignantly.

Wraith shook his head, answering the question, and started walking towards the Black Iron Palace. 'That dude is such an idiot' he thought.

"Hey! I am a commander of the Holy Dragon Alliance! You will respect me!" Stated the knight boldly.

Wraith stopped walking, and turned slowly, starting to get annoyed.

"Yeah, you better face me! Now, hand over your weapons and half of your money!" He said, sending a [Trade Request].

Wraith dismissed the window instantly, shaking his head slowly. 'He actually thinks he can make me submit? What an imbecile'

"You… you dare defy the might of the Alliance? Just you wait! The HDA and the ALF are gonna join together and form the guild The Alliance of Aincrad! Just you see, our power will be absolute! If you are loyal now, then maybe you will get off easier in the future!" He laughed at the white figure before him. "Now hand over your weapons!"

* * *

Wraith stood before the Monument of Life, waiting for the rest of the people to show up. Tohaku stood beside him, also waiting.

When the knight had spilled the beans about the joining of the guilds, Tohaku had made a surprise appearance, and froze the knight where he stood. He was in a Safe Zone, so he wouldn't be damaged by the extreme cold, but he would be a kight-cicle for a while.

"Well, Kora is certainly taking his time!" Complained Tohaku, hoping to make small talk. "You would think he would be the first here!"

Wraith stood, as still as a statue as the officers of the Army walked by, giving the pair odd looks. The Monument of Life is open for anyone to stand by, loiter, or really do whatever they want with, even though the Force's headquarters are in the Black Iron Palace.

"Tohaku-kun!" Came a high pitch call.

Wraith turned to see Mayoko and Miho come running up. "Haven't seen you in a little while! How's it been?" She asked, hugging her friend firmly.

"Well, after I declined that [Cats' Lives Matter Too] quest, I took some time off to asses some new spells at my disposal." He started, but then another voice was heard.

"We don't need long speeches about your so called 'achievements'" I stood beside Wraith, which I was guessing he knew about since he didn't jump at my voice. "Long story short, he found out how to drop stalagmites on people"

"Oooh, that sounds awesome!" Said Mayoko, jumping up and down. "Can you do it now?"

"Nope" answered Tohaku. "It takes a while to prepare"

"Well, I leave you alone for one minute, and look where you are!" Aoki slapped me in the back. "It turns out you can do something right!"

"At least I am not selling my friends out to be used as a tailor's slave" I grumbled. "Oh, just so you know, he gave me the money, not to you, and wanted to say this" I cleared my throat.

"'Teika has earned this'"

She laughed at that, a humorous glint in her eyes. "We could always force you to give us that money…"

"Wait, 'we'?" I paused at that, turning around just in time to sidestep a human projectile.

Silica landed on the ground with an 'oof!', failed to tackle me.

"Well, good plan, bad execution" commented Tohaku. "Next time, talk to me, I am sure I can help your next surprise attack."

I ignored him, and helped Silica off the ground. "Nice try, but even if you had hit me, I am sure my str stat is just high enough to keep from falling over"

She pouted. "I just wanted a hug!"

I smiled at her, and embraced the grumbling girl. "Better?" I asked, holding her at arm's' length.

She shook her head. "Longer!"

I laughed at the demand, and obeyed it, wanting to hold her closer anyways.

"Teika and Silica sitting in a tree, f-u-c-k-i-n-g" started Mayoko, dancing from one foot to another.

"Excuse me?" I said, turning (while still holding Silica) to face the other girl. "I am pretty sure I can kick your ass with one of my hands incapacitated"

"Oh yeah?" She challenged, a glint in her black beady eyes.

"Easy now, Mai" cautioned Tohaku. "I wouldn't want to have to kill him for attacking you"

Oh, this was unacceptable. "Ok, blondy. Let's go!" I said, releasing Silica.

"Are you sure you want to go toe-to-toe with a Mage, much less on of my brainpower?" He asked, a challenging smile on his lips.

"Number one mistake you have made already, and we haven't even started yet!" I laughed. "Never underestimate your opponent, or overestimate yourself"

"Ahh, but if I didn't think I would kick your ass, which by the way, is all I have been doing in our fights, then I would be underestimating myself." He winked.

I was about to send the request, when a voice rang clear through the room. "Ladies, do I need to separate you two, and find corners for timeout?"

We both whipped our heads around to find the person who dare say such a thing to us.

"Or will you two back down, and wait for me to start with instructions?" Asked Kora, three men behind him falling into our group.

I was about to say a withering retort, but a hand clamped over my mouth. "Of course Teika will!" Said Aoki. "If he won't, I will roast his ass."

I heard something similar happen to Tohaku, as I am sure he was going to say something very close to what I was going to say.

"Good, then, let's start." Said the ex-commander.

"Jax, front and center!" He said. A man marched up to the stone. He wore a simple tunic, with an iron breastplate and shin guards. He had a spatha strapped to his waist, and had a was kilt on. To finish the look, a plumed helmet rested in his arm as he tepee up to Kora.

"I am Jax, Kora's ex-second in command. Kora and I have gotten the-" he started.

"I cut Tohaku off from a long speech, just skip to the 'here's the application, now join us' part" I said rudely.

He gave me a glare, but I heard someone mutter "thanks" behind me.

"Fine then. You eight have been selected to found a new guild. This guild's mission will be to protect the mages within it, and get the hell out of this game" Jax relented. He then turned to Kora. "Send the requests."

Kora fiddled with his menu, and sent a pop-up to each of the nine people in front of him. Right before I started reading, he said "Teika, Tohaku, you two better get along. I will not have this guild fight itself for dominance, if I have to, I will discipline you"

"As long as he doesn't pretend to be my superior, I am fine" I said, and before anyone could scorn my, I continued. "I will treat him fairly, only if I get the same treatment"

Kora nodded. "Fine"

Tohaku also nodded. "Oui oui. I will treat Teika as my equal"

As we all hit the 'comfirm' button in unison, I heard an angry shout.

"What in the name of hell do you think you are doing?" We all turned to see a spiky haired teen in an Army uniform come stomping up. "Who are you, what what are you doing?" He demanded.

We all looked at Kora, and he motioned to Tohaku, myself, and Kax to walk with him.

We approached the angry person, and stopped in front of him.

"I was fired from the ALF, even though my squad was the one bringing in the most resources, and was the most liked by the populace. I am forming a new guild, called the Arcane Guard in spite of this mistreatment." Kora said calmly.

"Well then" he calmed down. "My name is Kibaou." He held out a hand. "Who are you?"

Our commander grabbed and shook the limb. "My name is Kora, leader of the Guard. This is my second, Jax" the kilted man stepped forward, and gripped the hand tightly. "These are Teika and Tohaku"

We each nodded to Kibaou. "Wait, I remember you" he said, looking at me.

"Yeah, you're the guy who beat [Illfang] down in floor one!" He said, smiling appreciatively. "Man, you scared us big time! We thought you were the Cursed Man!" He laughed some.

Then he got somber. "Trust me, Kora. I did not know anything about squads being disbanded, but I did know a lot of things were happening behind my back. In the Army, there are three 'Supreme Commanders' who act like a Prime Minister or President would. The other two are collaborating into turning that number into one less."

We nodded, comprehending, so he went on. "My plan is to rally supporters on the squads, and oust the other two peacefully. I do not want there to be a guild civil war" he shook his head, sighing.

"Understood. If you need anything, just pm me" Kora sent Kibaou a friend request, which the Supreme Commander accepted.

"Hey, why were you yelling at us? At the beginning?" I asked.

"Ahh! That's the genius! I wanted to make it look like I was scorning some rioters, but I meant no offence" he raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"I'm from America. It takes a lot more to offend me than your average person" I said, smiling to show I didn't mean to put anyone beneath me.

"The Army, the Alliance, and a few other guilds are about to go and have a Boss Raid meeting. Since you are now a guild, you are allowed in" he said to us, changing the subject.

"But why aren't solo players allowed?" Tohaku beat me to the question.

"The Alliance doesn't want any weird votes when they tell us how we are going to fight. Speaking of which, mind letting a few people into the guild for about a day?" He asked.

"Why?" Demanded Kora, wanting to know the reasoning behind a man he just met asking him for favors.

"Because they are solo players" Kibaou winkined. "Ahh, and they are behind you!"

We spun around to see a teen boy and girl. The girl was wearing bright colored clothing, with a cheery expression on her face. Her dark blonde hair and brown eyes gave her a kind look that, accompanied with her perfect figure, made her probably irresistible to males.

The boy in the other hand was the complete opposite. He had kept black clothes, with hair and eyes matching in color and gloominess. He gave off the impression that he didn't like people much. And that people didn't like him.

"Hello" the girl bowed. "My name is Asuna. This is Kirito" when she rose, everyone bowed in acknowledgement.

"Role call" I joked. "Raise your hand when I call your name" and I introduced everyone. She seemed to pick up on the names quickly, while Kirito just stared off into space.

"So, as I was saying" Kibaou said. "I want these two to join your guild for a day or two, just so we can sneak them into the Raid Meeting"

"Sure, I don't see why not" Kora seemed ok with the idea.

But, Kirito grunted. Still not making eye contact, he seemed to have something on his mind that Japanese culture forbids saying aloud.

"Something wrong?" Asked Kora. "I don't wanna force you into anything you don't wish to do"

He looked right at the leader, and said "I don't see why I have to band with such low-lifes"

This caught everyone by surprise, but Tohaku and I quickly brushed off our shock.

"Say that again" I growled, opening my menu for my weapons.

"I'm sorry, but that attitude is unacceptable" Tohaku seemed just as pissed as I. "Send me a duel request so I can freeze you where you stand."

I looked at the frost Mage, his glare as cold as, well, ice. "Why not just freeze him now, and let him thaw slowly?"

"Stand down" came an order. I looked at Kora, my eyes begging for a shot at this guy.

"Don't you dare make a move" he said. Then he faced Kirito. "Son, I think you are greatly underestimating these people. Or greatly overestimating your abilities"

"He was only kidding, right Kirito?" Said Asuna, her voice calm, and nice, but had that motherly tone quality that said 'if you disagree, I will backhand you'.

"Nope. Not at all. In fact, if those idiots think they can fight me, I want them to try. Right here. Right now" gods, that look made me with there wasn't a pain absorber.

"I bet you get bullied irl. I bet you get bullied bad" I said, mock sympathy dripping off of my voice.

His eyes steeled. "Excuse me? You think you know anything about who I am, or where I come from?"

Tohaku and I exchanged a glance. Got 'em.

"Would you like to do the honors?" I asked Tohaku.

"Oh, mon ami. You can, merci" he have a flourish with his hand.

Before any of the higher-ups could stop me, I went on a rant. "You act like a god, and in Japan, it is almost illegal to put yourself before anyone else. You say whatever you want, whenever you want, and nowhere is that a good idea, not even in America, where individualism is encouraged. Frankly, I don't see how anyone, anyone at all, including her" I nodded towards Asuna. "Can stand you, and she has an angelic personality."

"Keep talking and I will end you" he growled, equipping the [Anneal Blade] from the first floor. "Try me"

"Kirito! Put that away!" Then she turned to me, more than a little annoyed. "Stop! Now! We came to help you, and you do this to us?"

"We want to help Aincrad, and he does this to us? No, mon amie." Tohaku said, stepping forward. "He is no God. If he is, I would like him to prove it"

I nodded. "Right now"

"Fine then" Kirito said, sending a [Duel Request], set to [Half Loss].

 **Who will win? Main Character, or Bullshit Swordplay? We'lll find out next time, on 'Wtf was he thinking?'**


	46. Chapter 46-Heated Words, Big Reveal

**no, I did not get the dates wrong. I am showing two days at once. There is nothing wrong with that. I can have years of difference, but I will always tell what the date is.**

 **thanks everyone! My most dedicated reviewers (Failtastic, Thunder) thank you guys for everything!**

 **lso, a lot of aspects in this fic come from Failtastic's fic, and Vice versa. We borrow OCs, ideas, timelines, and more. I just wanted to say, that Failtastic is much of the source of a lot of what I have.**

 **i will be accepting ideas for chapter names from now on, cuz I am sure someone reading this has a better idea. Pls pm me!**

Riko- 24 December, 2022

Riko dashed from covering tree to covering tree, dodging arrow fire directed at her. Her high ability stat made dodging arrows easy, but when ten are flying at the same time, it gets challenging.

She was on floor three, in a dungeon in the woods. How and why there were humanoid archers, she didn't know. All she knew was that they were trying to kill her, and she didn't feel like dying.

Panting, she drew out some throwing pick from her belt. These were very ineffective against pretty much anything, unless you were smart and had a few friends who knew the most deadly poisons on the first few floors…..

She peeked around a wooden trunk wider than she was, and saw her foes. They were black cloaked figures, each with the hood pulled low over their face. They all had dark clothes under the cloak, and dark gloves, to make differentiating them difficult. To make matters worse, they all were similar heights.

One of them faced her, and drew the bowstring back. As Riko ducked back, the bark exploded off the trunk as the arrow struck it.

'What the hell? Are they using lead tipped arrows or something?' She thought. 'They might be able to punch right through anything I handed behind'

Of course, lead tips make the bolts fly a much lesser distance. Power sacrificed for range, simple. So, maybe running away would be a good idea.

She peeked again, out of the same side, and took a mental snapshot before ducking back once again. She was placing the people in her mental map, judging which way she should run out of cover.

She wanted to go around them, as the [Nephilia Regina] dungeon was on the other side of the people shooting at her. She kinda wanted to grind for a while in there, but these asshats wanted to shoot at her for whatever reason.

She lept out, flopping to,the ground, and barrel rolling in air. This was a true test of her dex stat. She took aim in mid fall, and threw her readied pick at the closest enemy.

She hit the ground hard, driving air from her petite frame, but masked by the brush.

"Fuck, little bitch hit me" one said.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed louder, as the two status effects took hold, one of poison, and one of paralyze.

"Damnit, little brat. Someone get Sarran back up" came an order.

Riko started crawling, using her mental map, counting people, and placing them-

Wait, she only noticed nine people out of the ten shooters.

She felt a hand grab her hair, and yank her up into the air.

Her heart pumped hard, sending adrenaline through her veins as the person raised her to her feet, and dropped her.

When her feet touched the ground, spinning quickly, about to shove a concealed knife into her foe's stomach.

He grabbed both of her wrists, twisting the one with the knife, forcing her to drop it. Then he spun her around, and put her in a headlock.

"Got the little scum" he growled.

"Let me go, you asswipe! I'll mop the floor with your mother, I swear to fucking god!" Riko shouted.

"Wow, feisty isn't she?" One said, pulling her chin up to force her to look at him. "She ain't to bad looking either… maybe we should disable her [Ethics Code]..."

She spat in his face, and he backed away instinctively, even though this game doesn't have saliva.

"You can burn for all I care" she growled.

Some of the men laughed, but the one she just dissed got rather angry. "You wanna die here and now, you bitch?"

"Maybe if you got this fatass to let go of me, I would show you a real good time" she smiled sadistically. The guy holding her arms tightened his grip at the insult, even though he was rather lanky.

"Oh, you wanna play?" He asked, and she could hear the mirth in his voice.

"Try and stop me" she said. 'If only I could get to my other knife…'

She had three more knives stashed up her sleeves, usually for the [Sneak Attack] bonus, and for throwing when the times were tough (knives were so much more expensive than picks)

The man drew some rope out of his inventory. "Not on your life am I letting you go. Tie her up" he threw the item at another person, and started walking away. "Make sure to remove the three weapons from her sleeves first."

Riko stopped at that point. How did he know that? She hasn't told anyone where she kept her concealed blades, or how many!

"Also, Riko" he said, further stunning her, since all of her info was set to [private]. "Please don't try escaping. We are being paid a lot of money to keep you safe."

"Safe? And you're kidnapping me?" She scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Your sister sent us. Satome"

(Scene change)

Teika-23 December 2022

"[Ignum Meis]!" Aoki shouted, halting all action as tongues of flame circled her body. She had one hand, each pointed at me, and Kirito.

"Move and I will send you flying" she dared to the both of us.

"Aoki, why aren't you letting me screw this guy?" I asked. "He deserves it."

Her eyes locked with mine "If I walk up to you, punch you in the face, and then ask for five dollars, what would you say?"

"I would tell you to bite me" I said, now understanding.

"Right. We still want him, so don't be trying to kill him"

"Put away your weapons. Now" Kibaou ordered, and we obeyed.

"I really don't care what you guys do. Asuna never told me I had to join any guild, she just said I have to show up here, and listen for five minutes." He then checked his HUD. "And those five minutes are up. Nice meeting you people!" He said sarcastically, turning to leave.

"Kirito! Stay here!" Asuna stalked after the stuck up boy. "Where are you going?"

I turned to Aoki, sighing. "Thanks. I don't know how far I would have gone."

"You are not off the hook" she growled, her fire still flowing. "Where in hell did all that testosterone come from, huh?"

I blinked rapidly, processing that question.

"Ok, before anything else happens, I'm gonna step back in" Kora said, standing between the two of us. "I expected to have a huge celebration, but all the tension tells me y'all are going to need some adjusting time. Come back here tomorrow. Kibaou and I will find a place we can call HQ"

"Isn't Kibaou part of the Army?" Asked Mayoko.

"Yes, but he is against what they are turning into." Kora explained. "Right?"

The Commander nodded. "The Army used to be for the people, by the people, from the people. Now, they are just bullies. No better than the Alliance." He spat.

"Well, I guess that we will dismiss for now" Kora said. "I will send all of you a message two hours in advance when I want you here"

Tohaku turned towards me. "We make a good team, mon ami" he said.

"No" I said to him. "We think alike. That's it."

"Then why are you joining, if I am in the guild?" He smiled. "You know we work well."

"I am doing this to protect Silica and Aoki. No more. No less." I said, turning away.

"They are my top priority."

(Scene change)

Satome- 24 December, 2022

Why would a caring sister such as Satome want her little sibling kidnapped by a shady group? Simple, Yoriko was being followed by some Aincrad Liberation Force lackey.

How he managed to stay on her tail without her noticing was impressive indeed. He must only use his Skill Points on [Stealth] to keep someone who hunted mobs like Riko did from noticing. Impressive indeed.

Kayaba banned her from contacting Riko in any way, so Sato just used much of her Health Points and Stamina to contact a group of people named Laughing Coffin to find her, and protect her.

"[Visus Impius]" she said, watching her Health dip farther. The spell was called Sight of the Wicked, and allowed her to close her eyes, and travel in spirit to another place in Aincrad, and walk around. She couldn't interact with anything, or anyone, but she can keep tabs on Riko.

Laying on her plush bed, Satome closed her eyes, and traveled to Riko.

"Your sister sent us. Satome" said one of the cloaked people, staring Riko in the eyes, face centimeters from the girl's.

That action made Satome clench her jaw. She would definitely dock their pay if they mistreat her little jewel. She watched them cut her lightly with a knife, coated with a paralysis poison, and saw them carry her away, Riko not struggling from the shock that her older sister was still alive, and looking out for her.

Satisfied, she returned to her own body, since her Sight only lasted a few minutes.

Waking up from the experience, she stood in the basic room, and walked to the window.

Kayaba had learned of her interfering with the outside world, so he had taken her Crystal Ball, which allowed her Sight to last indefinitely. He couldn't take away her powers entirely though. The Cardinal System made the Mages unable to be stripped of their power, except for by death.

'Man, Akihiko is getting so stressed lately' Satome thought. 'Since the AI he created is defying him, he acts like if he doesn't get hold of it soon, the world will end. Like Cthulhu would rain his wrath and judgement upon us or something.'

She laughed to herself. 'Not even Cardinal would put some Ultimate Beings into play, since not even all six mages could take one on, and that's counting Satome's abilities to wipe areas of mobs.'

'Damnit. If only I didn't have to pay Health for these powers' she cursed in her mind. 'Then I could do much more than sit on my ass, waiting a day or two to fully heal before being able to do anything!'

"Hello, how are you today?" Kayaba spawned into the room, looking the part of an old man who happened to like RPGs.

"Terrible, thanks" she said.

He opened his menu with a swipe of his hand, and looked at her health points. "Already blew through all of your magic for the day, huh?. He asked laughing. "Man, you keep resisting my orders of 'do not interfere with the outside world,."

He threw an hp potion to her, so she wouldn't die by tripping. "And the fact your powers make you resistant to all status effects, negative and positive, frustrated me."

She caught it, and drank the sweet liquid greedily as he continued. "So I can't paralyze you, I can't take your powers. Cardinal even took my ability to restrict who you talk to"

"You created the System didn't you? Why not just shut it down?" She asked wiping her mouth. "Pull the plug or something"

"It's not as simple as that" he strayed, and then turned away from her. "If I 'pull the plug', as you state it, the NerveGear would read that as everyone dying in the game, so the Death Signal will still be sent." Then he sighed, which told Sato he wasn't saying everything.

"And what if you rewrite some code or something?" She questioned aloud. "Aren't you some super smart geek, or something? How hard is it to write a few lines of code?"

Kayaba seemed really depressed about something at her words. "Well, it's still not that simple. Coding is much more complex than anyone will ever know, even us coders"

She could still sense something else was on his mind. "And?" She prompted.

""You know the Cardinal System has the ability to evolve, and add in items from various mythologies, right?" He started, looking at her.

Nodding dutifully, she wanted to hear this.

"It also has the auto balance feature, where it changes the system occasionally, to balance the game. To keep people from becoming overpowered to hard" he beat around the bush.

"Get to the point" she said, starting to get annoyed, but a fear crept into her mind. 'What could scare the god of this world?' She wondered.

He readied himself for what he didn't want to say. "Cardinal has locked me for, the System. I am no longer in control of Sword Art Online"

 **Dun dun duuuuuunnnnnnn!**

 **that happened...**


	47. Chapter 47-Ring of Fire

**thanks to my awesome reviewers! WeirdoHasARAYGun, you do not count! Posting what chapter ur on doesn't count!**

December 23, 2022, later.

The flames burned bright, searing my skin even though they were meters from me. Fire surrounded me I had a round shield strapped to my right arm, with a small sword inside the strap. I had a heavy ax in my right hand, facing my foes. One was taller than the other, but I couldn't make out their features.

The ring of fire surrounding the three of us, conjured up by one of my enemies. I tried to wipe the sweat from my brow, but only managed to soak my face with the liquid on my arm. 'Damn it's hot' I thought. 'I better win this soon, or else I'm gonna die from heat stroke'.

I went into 'analyzing mode', my laser focus allowing me to push away the discomfort of heat for a little while longer.

Then my two opponents split, their silhouettes dashing to my right and left, flanking me. I turned towards the taller one, knowing she could inflict much more pain.

It raised a hand, calling forth the power it was cursed with, and launched a fireball in my direction.

Timing my move, I ducked under the fireball, rolling towards the figure with a roll, but faced the other enemy when I raised to my feet, who sent four shuriken in my direction.

I raised my shield, not ready to become Swiss Teika anytime soon. My mind told me that it was time to roll to the right, and I did, narrowly missing another fireball. Gods I love my instincts sometimes.

I lept to my feet, and bicycled backwards, making sure both adversaries were in plain view. I stopped when the heat of the flames behind me was too hot to continue my retreat.

This was not going to end well for me, that I understood, not without serious help. And that help better show up now.

"You call?" I heard next to me, and I looked to see a sight for sore eyes.

Nancy stood, clad in radiant gold armor, a longsword in hand, its edge yearning for blood.

"What took you so long?" I demanded my old friend, watching her flick some already damp hair out of her face.

"Was caught up in something." She muttered. "But I'm here now, aren't I?"

"I almost got barbecued twice!" I complained.

"Shut up and pay attention" she commanded. "I would rather not have my partner die on me today"

I grunted, agreeing with that statement.

"What do you know about them" she asked, nodding towards the two who are trying to kill us. They were standing, also forming a game plan now that there was a new threat.

"Well, the taller one has fire powers, with a large range, and nasty side effects" I looked around at the ring of fire, with a backdrop of black.

"And the shorter one?" She asked face steeled to not give away anything.

"She is quick, and wields both close combat knives and throwing weapons." I explained. "Both are deadly adversaries, but I think we can take them."

"How so?" Nancy asked. "If they are as strong as you say, then how will we take those two on without dying?"

"I will take the little one. She is fast, but doesn't deal much damage. I can deflect her knives and shuriken with my shield, and if she thinks it wise to come into close range, then that will be her downfall" I started.

"You fight the Mage. Your armor weakens all Magical Damage you would take, and [Excalibur] will even deflect her fireballs" I nodded to the longsword in her hand.

"Good, then let's go" she nodded, and we rushed the opponents, ready for victory.

* * *

I sat on the roof of a house on the outskirts of the Town of Beginnings. Silica sat next to me, head on my shoulder, my head resting on hers. Our eyes were watching the sunset before us. Colors of all hues and tints streaked across the sky, greeting our eyes with their brilliance.

Her breathing was slow, and rhythmic, indicating her relaxed state. Nothing was stressing her right now. For Silica, nothing could ever be more perfect than to just sit here, watching the sky for all eternity.

I thought I was doing a good job at hiding my emotions, but I guess she knows me a little better than I originally guessed.

"You wanna talk about it?" She asked quietly, surprising me with the question.

"Talk about what?" I asked nonchalantly, trying to evade the question.

"Aoki taught me that your heartbeat is the best way to tell how you feel. That and your eyes" she lifted her head off my shoulder, and stared into me, looking into my soul.

"Something is wrong, and I wanna know what" she seemed polite, but I knew how she could get when she doesn't get her way, especially if Aoki started teaching her some tricks.

"It's nothing important" I brushed off, hoping against hope it would end there, even when I knew it wouldn't.

"You and I both know that is a lie" she commented, opening her menu. "Maybe I should call for backup…"

I saw her readying a message to Aoki. "No!" I said. "I'll talk!"

My head slumped, my will defeated by the thought of being ganged up on by both females.

I heard a giggle erupt from Silica, sending me halfway to being happy already.

"Sooo…" She prompted after a few seconds of silence.

"Geez, I thought that your culture is supposed to be taught in subtlety" I complained.

"You rub off on me!" She hugged me tight, her attitude contagious.

I wrapped my arms around her too, unable to keep a smile from my lips.

"I'm just worried that Kirito and Asuna are going to get us killed. Kirito is a vain boy, who doesn't know what it means to lose others." I said, holding her at arm's length.

"I know it won't matter whether they join or not!" Silica said, still smiling.

"If they don't join us, then the Army And Alliance are going to unite, and hunt down anyone who is related to the Mages in any way. The whole Arcane Guard will be annihilated" I didn't say aloud, but she knew I meant more that she and Aoki would be killed.

"But they will join us" she said, smile fading, replaced with a serious look. "I am sure you can convince Kirito and Asuna to go ahead and stay with the plan."

"I don't think so" I said. "Asuna won't join if Kirito won't, and that idiot won't if I let him act all godlike. And I refuse to let that happen"

"I demand that I must be treated with respect, and that my friends must be treated with respect. If not, I will teach them a lesson. That is how I have always been."

"And I know you will find a solution" she said. "I know this"

"How?" I asked, looking at her pleadingly. "I can only see the way out as the three of us leaving the guild"

"You are Teika. You will always find a way. You are smarter than he is. You will be able to find a way to keep us safe, and to keep the two guilds form uniting." She said, staring at me intently.

I lowered my eyes. "But what if I can't"

She grabbed my chin, and raised my head to look her on the eyes. She looked pretty frustrated when she finished.

"You keep telling me I need more confidence, yet you have no faith in yourself! If you can't believe in yourself, how can I? How can Aoki?"

This hit a nerve. "I guess you are right. I'm just being a wimpy hypocrite." I sighed. "Sorry Silica, you're probably pissed off right now"

"Yeah, 'cuz I was happy sitting beside you, enjoying the sunset, when you had to get all sad and depressed!" She pouted.

I laughed at her, since Silica pouting is the only topped by Silica angry when one wants to laugh. I leaned forward, and placed my forehead against hers, my eyes closed.

The sun had set, a cool night breeze coursing through the town. I caught the scent of her as I sat, hands holding hers, feeling the peace leak from her into me. It was serene, the infinite trust that I showed her, and she showed me from that one motion. It felt like nothing could ever separate us. Not now. Not ever. I was going to make sure of that.

I pushed her back, even though I wanted that moment to last forever.

"What's wrong now?" She asked, also a little annoyed by my actions.

"I'm gonna go and challenge Kirito right now" I said, opening my menu. I typed his screenname into the recipient bar.

Recipient: Kirito.

Message: Meet me outside the floor 1 bossroom. We are going to settle this now

* * *

I wiped sweat off my brow, watching the short girl dance towards me, flicking knives and shuriken in my direction. My shield easily blocked them, but when I lowered it, she already was beside me, around the shield.

I turned quickly, but not quick enough to dodge her knife, which sank into my gut.

I backed away, screaming in the sudden agony that rushed like lightning through my torso.

I pulled the knife out, hands now slippery with blood leaking from my side. 'That hurts more than expected'

"Teika! Are you ok?" Nancy shouted, turning towards me. Not paying attention to her adversary.

"No!" I shouted, "Look out!"

But my command was too late, a fireball crashed into the unprotected back of her head. She fell, dead before she hit the ground.

"Nancy!" I shouted, pulling a hatchet from my side, and threw it at the caster of flames.

She dodged it nimbly, and I felt another stinging pain as a knife plunged into my back. I stopped moving, the pain too much to bear. I saw my vision turning dark. The last thing before I lost consciousness was Nancy's burnt face.

* * *

People knew that the increase in difficulty made grinding [Frenzy Boar]s much more appealing to the floor three mobs, which were near impossible if you were lower than level ten.

Silica stood beside me, wringing her hands from anxiety. "Are you sure about this?" She asked me.

I nodded as we reached the tall pillar that served as the Labyrinth for floor one.

I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes, steeling my nerves. I could not let some shallow brat stand between my friend's and safety. This, I would see to.

I heard his footsteps before Silica had a chance to warn me.

I opened my eyes, and looked at him. "What took you so long?" I taunted.

"Had to get repairs for my sword." He grunted, staring back at me. He stopped about five meters away. "We gonna do this, or not?"

"I just want to put a few stipulations on this fight." I said, raising a finger.

"Go ahead." He said, smiling.

"If I win, you have to join the Arcane Guard for the duration of time it takes for us to stop the uniting of the Army and Alliance"

He nodded in acknowledgement. "But if I win, you have to not only leave me alone, but also help me with a certain quest, of which I get all the rewards to"

I nodded, agreeing to those steep terms.

"Teika, this isn't what I meant by you will find a way!" She tried to stop me from sending the [Duel Request], but wasn't successful.

I set it to [Half Loss], so no serious damage will be given.

He hit the acceptance button, and drew his Anneal Blade. His dark eyes and dark hair made him look like some anime main character, but I was determined to beat this prick.

"You remind me of this guy I met in the mountains a while ago" he thought aloud. "Wielded a railroad track of a sword, and expected to be able to teach me a thing or two! Ha, the nerve!"

"Funnier part, whenever I cut him, he screamed as though it actually hurt him. That's stupidity for you, some guy not understanding that there is no pain here." He smiled. "I think I will kick your ass worse than I did his.

"He wasn't stupid" I growled. "His [Pain Absorber] turned off on day one. You tortured a man for no reason"

"Well, I don't care." He said. "He picked the fight with me"

The timer was almost done, ticking away the final few seconds. I wasn't going to lose this fight. That was the possibility I had a core feeling wouldn't happen. He may be good at this game, but there was a big difference between the both of us.

The difference between him and me? I had things worth fighting for.

 **I did it again! cliffhanger! I promise I am not doing this intentionally!**


	48. Chapter 48-To the Right, to the Left

**thanks to my awesome Beta, WierdoHasARayGUN. It's a Call Of Duty Black Ops reference.**

 **man. 38 followers. 28 favorites. This story has gotten quite a fanclub. I thank you all peeps!**

 **the chapter name is a song reference!**

The timer hit zero, and neither of us moved. The cool breeze blowing my hair into my face, obscuring my vision slightly, but still, the swordsman did not budge.

"You gonna attack, or not?" He asked, crouching. "I'm getting bored."

"How about you go on the offensive? History shows that he who strikes first wins a lot of the time" I taunted, not ready to rush to my defeat.

"We both know that if I, an offense based fighter, were to attack someone who uses a shield, then I could easily have my sword deflected, and be struck down." He laughed. "What did you take me for, an idiot?"

The tip of his sword lowered, and I took my chance.

I dropped my battle ax, and reached for one of my Tribal Crys strapped to my leg. The moment his eyes opened again, the tomahawk was flying towards his face.

His Anneal Blade came up, repelling the attack with ease.

"Well, nice to know you take opportunities given to you" he said, back to crouching.

"Hey, you throw a softball over the center of the plate, I gotta swing." I shrugged, hefting my ax back up.

"Then maybe it's time for a fastball" he said, dashing forward.

I lowered my center of gravity, so my shield blocked more of my body. I peeked over the top, and saw his sword turn blue with a diagonal slice; [Slant].

I braced, ready to absorb a blow. I felt the contact. Sword on wood, I didn't expect his Str stat to be as large as it was, and staggered back.

As I went backwards, he followed through with the strongest basic skill [Vertical], and smashed the iron rim of my shield.

It was forced down, and I tripped, falling on my back. I saw his sword start to plunge at me, so I kicked.

My foot made contact with his torso, so his sword didn't turn me into a shishkabob, and only sliced my left leg.

He staggered, since my Str stat is pretty high, if I do say so myself.

When he was out of range to be able to hit me, I climbed to my feet, more than a little annoyed that I was losing already.

"Well, I attacked" he taunted, smiling cockily.

"Try that again, and see what happens." I snarled. 'How did I misjudge him like that?' I berated myself. 'I didn't know he could hit that hard, yet that fast!'

"And his reaction time is great" said my favorite blonde next to me.

"Shove off Nancy." I whispered, keeping my eyes on my opponent. "I don't need any distractions right now."

"Then why distract yourself with thoughts of how good he is?" She asked me. "Why fight for others, when they just distract you from your full potential?"

"Are we really going through this right now?" I muttered, really wanting her to leave.

"Hey, are you just gonna talk to yourself, or are we going to end this?" Kirito shouted, shocking me out of my little trance.

"Whatever. You in a hurry?" I asked. "I like taking my time, to savor my victory."

"Last time I looked, I'm down half a percent, and you seem to be missing a good five" he laughed at me again. "For someone so cocky, you really can't back that bark up with some bite"

"With someone so insolent, you haven't realized my game plan." I said, releasing another tomahawk at him.

This one hit, right in the shoulder. His body swirled from the impact, and it drained a good chunk of his health.

"I won't let you win" I said, closing the distance between us.

I saw him lunge towards me, using a skill I didn't know. My shield easily knocked his blade out of the way.

"Not now"

My ax came crashing down on his body, dealing a large amount of damage in one hit.

"Not ever!"

(Scene change)

"He is going to do something foolish" Tohaku told Kora, as they walked from room to room in the Black Iron Palace.

"How do you know he is even awake right now? It's past nine thirty" Kora rebuked. "You shouldn't be guessing the worst about people."

"Teika may be able to do math faster than the Cardinal System, but I can read people" Tohaku argued. "He is probably dueling that brat, Kirito."

Kora put the small stack of papers he was carrying onto the table with a slam, and faced the ice Mage. "Will you not stop bugging me!" He grunted. "Fine, I will send Aoki and Asuna to check on the both of them!"

Tohaku bowed. "Thank you sir" coming from his mouth. He turned to leave.

"What makes you sure he has challenged Kirito?" Kora asked, right before Tohaku left.

He stopped walking out, and formed his answer. "Teika is the most tenacious person I have ever met. He will accept you disrespecting him, but when Kirito acted like he out did everyone in the room, that set him off."

"Did it not set you off?" Kora inquired. "I don't see you rushing to your doom!"

"Difference is, I have a [Plan]. and my [Plan] does not include me fighting the top player in the game." Tohaku explained, still facing the door.

"And do, praytell, explain this [Plan] to me." Kora seemed a little annoyed now. "You seem obsessed with it, but don't tell people what it is."

"And I don't [Plan] to either" Tohaku joked, and walked out before further questioning could commence.

(Scene change)

He managed to dodge my strike that would have been the end of the match, and countered it with a stab to my slightly exposed right side. He hit my shoulder, and cut down, damaging something or other.

We both backed away, panting from the exertion of the fight.

"Damn… I likened you to that Mountain Man, but you aren't anything like him. He didn't care for speed, just his strength." Kirito said between breaths.

"Don't underestimate him" I said. "You never know who will save your life next."

My hp was at about sixty percent, Kirito's the same. Good news is that an ax has a higher base damage than a sword, so I am able to end this in one hit. Bad news, he is extremely fast. He could probably dodge all of my next attacks, and [Backstab] me for the win. I am sure he hasn't shown off his true abilities yet.

As one, we both ran forward, ready to conclude this match. I saw his sword, charged with light and energy, dart forward and try to stab for the win. My shield easily deflected the blow, but he used the negative momentum to spin, and flip, over me.

I barely managed to spin around in time to block his Anneals' next strike, aimed right for my face. I then pushed back, trying to put some distance between us to form a new plan, since that one did not work.

He made the decision for me, rushing again. I braced, ready to take the blow onto my shield.

"Teika! What in the name of hell?" I heard, my attention diverted.

I looked over to see Aoki come running up, along with Asuna.

I was suddenly knocked on my back, a status window stating I lost the duel.

"Why were you fighting him?!" Aoki demanded, standing over me.

"To get him to help us" I growled, frustrated at her interference, causing my defeat.

"We don't need him! He is a stuck up brat, who doesn't know what 'no' means!" She argued further.

I stood up, and faced Kirito. He was half listening to Asuna give him a similar ear-chewing.

I walked over to the dark clothed swordsman, and stuck my hand out. He stared at the limb, unsure of what to do.

"It's called a handshake. The Western half of the world does it to show peace, equality, and acceptance" I explained, looking the taller boy in the eyes. "You gra-"

"I know what it is. We take classes in this stuff" he grumbled. "I just don't know why you are thinking you are equal to me. I just demonstrated my superiority in battle"

I retracted my hand at that statement. "Fine, I guess."

Then I remembered. "What quest did you have in mind?"

"On floor four you are going to help me build a boat, and defend a fortress" he said.

"Sounds easy, but how do you-" Then it hit me. "Ahh, your a Beta Tester"

I gave him a knowing look. The only people more hated than Betas were the Mages. Since both groups had an unfair advantage in fights, they were shunned openly.

"Well, send me a message when you're gonna complete the quest" I said, about to walk away.

"Actually, I am going to do it the day we unlock the floor" he said.

I whipped around. "Not even going to rest a day?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Or get new weapons"

'Dumbass' I thought. 'Oh well, his decision.'

"Aoki, Silica, I'm going. You coming?" I asked, briskly walking away from that area.

"Sure" Silica called, matching my speed.

"You are not getting out of this that easily!" Aoki said, catching up.

"Teika" I heard my name called. I looked over my shoulder to see Asuna standing there, arms crossed in front of her, Kirito nowhere to be seen. "We will be at the Monument tomorrow" she said. "We will join the guild."

I nodded. "Thanks"

She turned, and ran off into a forest, probably to hunt down King Jackass.

"So! What were you thinking?" Aoki demanded, so I faced her.

"It is a long, and complicated thought process that I will get to later, but right now, I am going to take Silica somewhere." I looked over to her, as she watched Aoki and I fight. "If she is up for it, that is"

"What do you have in mind?" She asked, staring at her shoes as they stirred the dirt around.

"Well, considering I ruined the sunset thing, I was thinking that we could have dinner on my dime" I said, pretending to actually ponder this.

Her head snapped up, and I heard her stomach growl at the mention of food. "What?" She asked, and then slowed herself down. "I mean…. yeah, I guess."

Aoki And I shared a glance, and busted out laughing, unable to control ourselves at the girl's actions.

"So cute!" Aoki squeaked as she took in some breath, trying to calm down.

I saw Silica's face flush brightly, so I slowed my air down, and got under control. "I am sorry Silica, but that was sooooo priceless."

A small smile appeared on her lips, but it wasn't much. I walked over, and grabbed her hand. "Hey, we don't want to make fun of you, we just find some of your antics funny"

"Don't get upset over our Western way of thinking" Aoki said, falling in step on the other side of Silica. "You and I will make fun of Teika later"

(Scene change)

I kicked Aoki to the curb to give Silica and I some time, and she made a comment about being a third wheel. I told her that I would find her something pink, and she walked away willingly.

Silica and I sat on the exact same rooftop as before, watching the moonrise this time. The stars were bright, the crickets chirping, with the string orchestra music of the floor playing in the background. At this height, I swore I could reach out and touch the crescent moon high above. Even though I knew it was the bottom of the next floor, and computer generated, it still was marvelous to see.

A basket sat between us on the rooftop of the [Black Iron Palace], full of various breads, cheeses, and flavored drinks. It wasn't extravagant, but it was better than most of what one can get on the beginning floor.

Silica's head rested on my shoulder. "You should really eat more, Teika" she said. "There were four loaves of bread in there, and you only ate one"

"That's because someone else" I stressed the word 'else', implying her. "ate three loaves in the time it took me to quickly scarf one down"

She giggled some. "Isn't there an American saying, 'you snooze you lose'? Besides, I was hungry!"

"That's obvious" I said. "And there were two steaks in the basket. Massive steaks. Who exactly, had one and a half?"

"Casper" was her response, getting me to laugh.

"Nope. Casper wouldn't. His plans are totally see through. Besides, he is too gutless to even attempt those plans. Also, I am sure even the [Frenzy Boar]s have more brain than he does"

She was laughing hard now. Apparently puns are the way to go to get someone to laugh. Who knew?

She smiled cunningly. "You are going to a pun-itentiary and gonna get pun-ished by the pun-lice" She retaliated in English.

I blinked rapidly, not having heard that language in over a month. It took me a moment to process what she said, an awkward moment where she just sat there smiling, but I eventually comprehended it, and laughed with her.

"Sorry, it's been awhile since anyone has spoken to me in English." I scratched my head. "How about we stick to Japanese, since I have been speaking that for over a month"

She smiled. "Of course" her head tilted the side adorably.

Tentatively, I reached forward, and cupped her cheek with the palm of my hand.

Her eyes opened wide as I leaned in and kissed her.

A sensation that can only be described as bliss started from the tips of my toes and spread across my body like lightning. My goosebumps got goosebumps, the hairs on my arm stood on end. My hand stroked hers, the texture of her skin silky soft. I pulled back from her, my eyes half lidded.

When the cloud lifted from my brain, I saw her looking afraid.

"Something wrong?" I asked quickly.

"You pulled away…. Aoki told me that boys only do that if you're a bad kisser" she looked at the ground. "I guess I am a bad kisser"

I put my hand on hers. "No, it was a sensation I was getting drunk on."

She looked up. "Is that bad or good?"

I smiled. "Too good" I shook my head. "Way too good."

"Let's take this relationship thing slow. We wouldn't want to hurt one another" I said, looking back at the moon. "I really don't want to hurt you"

It was her turn to pull my head to face hers. "You could never hurt me."

She leaned forward, and this time I wasn't gonna pull back until my [Air Meter] hit zero.

 **If their relationship pacing is unreal, plz tells meh.**


	49. Chapter 49-When one Falls, Another Rises

**I DID IT! I GOT THIS DAMNED CHAPTER TYPED! Thank Failtastic Belt, he nagged me until I got around to it.**

 **this version is very different than my original intent... I hope it pleases.**

 **thanks to all my faithful reviewers! You guys are awesome!**

All I could see was black. An inky darkness surrounded me, enveloping the entirety of my consciousness. I couldn't feel anything, yet I was so cold, like a whispering winter wind was catching me bare.

I couldn't breathe, but I didn't need to. I don't know how, or why, but this darkness, this pitch black, was keeping me alive.

'Who am I?' I caught myself thinking. 'What is this place?'.

I was suddenly scared. The fear of the Unknown clutching at my chest, making me try and take in air, but I couldn't, furthering my panic. This Unknown was taunting me. This Unknown was holding me. This Unknown was taking me.

I finally got my body under control after a minute of heart wrenching panic.

Then a face appeared in my mind. It was a females'. She couldn't have been older than me by much if at all. She had dirty blonde pigtails on the sides of her head, and scarlet eyes. She was very pretty, and I knew her from somewhere, but couldn't quite place it.

"I love you, Teika-kun" she said, smiling, and leaned forward. Right before her lips met mine, she disappeared into a puff of smoke, swallowed by the darkness. I felt like something had just been torn out of me when she vanished into the Unknown, but was quickly replaced by that numbing nothingness. "Si….li….ca?" I whispered out loud, the word just coming into my head. As soon as those syllables met my ears, I couldn't even remember what I just said.

-Do you love her?-

I blinked rapidly upon hearing those words. They were a mere mutter, but definitely audible.

Before I could react, a scene opened before me. I was laying in a familiar purple bed, staring at an Apocalyptica poster on the ceiling.

"Do you love her?"

I looked towards my left, the source of the sound, and saw a girl. She had long blonde hair and sky blue eyes. But those eyes were red and puffy.

"What's wrong?" I asked instinctively. I didn't want this person to cry. I knew her, and for some reason I cared about her.

She sniffed, and rubbed a hand over her eyes. "Don't evade the question. Do you love her?"

I reached out, and grabbed her hand. "Nancy…" I started, her name coming to me. "Why would you ask that?''

She shrugged off my hand, and scooted away a little. "You have given me the cold shoulder ever since you met her… after all we have been through, you just put me on the back burner…"

The bed melted away, replaced with the dark Unknown again. But this girl stayed.

Determined, I reached out and pulled her into a hug. "You are my everything. I could never sideline you."

I took in a breath. "Back in the Institution you helped me keep from breaking down. You have always been there for me through good times... and bad. You kept me alive, and kept my mind working. You have shown me what happiness is."

"Stephen…" she started, but I interrupted.

"I don't really know this person." I said, referring to the other girl. "Has she always been there? Has she always smiled when I am down? Picked me up out of the freezing river when I cannot swim to shore? No. She hasn't. You have."

"Stephen…" her voice was calmer now, more loving. But I wasn't done.

"I seem to always fall,

Whenever I try to stand tall.

I couldn't find happiness,

In this swirling abyss.

But you showed me light,

Bringing it to my night,

Letting it burn bright,

Letting my heart soar like a kite."

I felt a tear roll down the side of my cheek. "I no longer fear the night."

This felt… wrong… but it… felt right.

(Scene change)

The Arcane Guard stood in a group at the back of the Boss Raid Team. Our plan was simple and easy: show the Assault Team that we were united, we would band together against anything or anyone that stood in our way.

We wore matching white cloaks, and walked in perfect time with each other. We just seemed to appear out of nowhere, since the Team just reached the Boss Room Doors. They were all facing someone talking to the whole mob, probably boss info. We didn't need to know it, as Argo already told us everything we needed to be able to do our job.

We stopped a few meters behind the mob, and waited for our que.

A familiar voice that brought rage to my body floated over the mass. Lind.

"Commander Kibaou. I propose a merging of guilds."

The whole Team started shouting in protests or cheers, depending on their faction.

"QUIET DOWN" Lind roared, instantly calming the group. "Now, if I may continue…"

"What makes you think we would ever join you?" Came a shout over the crowd.

"I am not talking to you. This is a decision for Supreme Commander Kibaou."

The tone he used made my hands clench tight. I wanted to just cut him down, strip him of all that ego, and throw him to some [Dire Wolf]s.

I felt a soft hand touch mine, and looked to see Silica's smiling face. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to; the gesture alone was enough.

"You have resources the Alliance needs. We have the numbers you need. Simple. We join up, create one Super Guild, and control everything." Lind finished.

"Tempting offer…" Kibaou started.

That was our cue. We walked forward, our steps clacking on the stone ground as we walked.

The people turned around with confused expressions, and parted slowly, making an opening for the line of white cloaked figures advancing.

The people on the outer edges, which was composed of Aoki, Silica, and me on one side, and Tohaku plus his gang on the other, folded back behind the center, so the Guild would fit better.

The crowd hushed, all attention on the mysterious figures. It was nearly impossible to not laugh, but at least my cowl was pulled low so no one could see my beaming face. This was gonna be good.

"And Who the hell are you?" Lind asked when he saw us.

No answer came, we just walked past him, and stood in front of the boss doors.

We all turned.

"Excuse me" Lind started. "But I asked you a-"

Kora took his hood off, and shouted in his booming voice "I am Kora, former captain of Squad Thirteen, the best Squad in the Army. My unit was disbanded on account we did not like the practices forced upon us, like taxing the people of Floor One, and force certain players out of certain dungeons."

Kibaou was smirking, as he was in on the whole stunt. He wasn't the Supreme Commander during the time Thirteen was told to do those things, and actively protested against it. But even the Boss must listen if outvoted by all the people right under him, for they might kick him from his throne.

"So what?" Lind asked. "Why are you disrupting this?"

Kora ignored him. "Myself, And some of the remainder of Squad Thirteen have joined up with the five known Mages and formed the Arcane Guard. We will work to complete the game alongside you. We won't permit the persecution of Mages any further. You either stand with us," his head turned to Kibaou, and nodded, then faced Lind. "Or against us. You choose."

The whole hall was silent. Not even breathing was audible.

Kibaou broke the silence. "The Aincrad Liberation Force stands with the Guard!"

He strode over to us, and stood beside Kora.

"The Fuurinkazan!" Klein and his guild came running from the center of the mass.

"Golden Apple!"

"Watchers!"

"Silver Fangs!"

More people came, and stood beside us cloaked in black. Argo even peeped up with "The Brokers!" Dashing to join the growing mass.

One by one, all that was left on the other side of the invisible line in the sand were the Alliance.

Lind was silently fuming, looking like he might have a tantrum.

"I refuse to join you band of misfits! First, when we ask for your help, you run away, and keep to yourselves, not letting our attempts for aid go answered. Then, you demand we join YOU?" He kept getting angrier and angrier. "No! All of you who have dared to cross the Alliance will rue the day you met those… those…. those blasphemous assholes!"

I stood there, trying not to fly at him for those remarks, but I heard someone in his guild speak. "Division five of the HDA is with the Guard"

Suddenly, ten silver knights broke away from Linds' mass.

"Excuse me? You are excommunicated from the guild!" He roared, taking his anger out on them.

"Division three" came another shout, and one by one the whole HDA, save one Squad came over to us. That one remaining Division was number one, Lind's personal Division.

He was just standing there. "You…. you can't…. you can't do that… I won't let you!"

I couldn't resist. "We just did" I said.

"Consider the Alliance disbanded" Kora finished, turning with a flourish.

(Scene change)

Satome backed away from her little crystal ball, startled by the revelations she just witnessed. The Alliance… which was running the game… was officially gone. As easy as that.

She backed away, the fog filled ball whispering softly in the otherwise silent room. She had been in that thing all day, it was very surprising that her HP bar was not in the Red.

She sat in the plush four poster bed, courtesy of her captor, Kayaba, pondering these events, and planning her next move.

She opened her menu, and pulled out one of the million potions stashed there for this very purpose. She planned on watching Yoriko next, to help keep her safe… and to make sure those Laughing Coffin assholes didn't do anything to her…

Nodding after drinking the tasteless liquid, she rose. Sure Kayaba might threaten to paralyze her again, but he never makes good in his threats. He didn't really want to stop her from interfering. He just didn't want to seem like he encouraged it.

"[Visus Oculi], Eye of Sight" she said, laying a hand on the smooth surface, about to be transported.

She was suddenly in a dimly lit room. Five figures sat at a table, eating a hearty meal. Four of them Sato knew were part of Laughing Coffin. The fifth was Riko, her little sister.

She sighed, knowing all is well, and they were treating Riko better than Kayaba was treating Sato! Who would have thought a guild of thieves and killers would be so nice?

"So, when can I meet Onii-chan?" Riko asked behind a mouth full of red meat.

The man Sato knew as PoH smiled. "She will be with us soon, I am sure"

Riko nodded, and kept digging into her food before her.

PoH suddenly stood up, and walked out of the room, mumbling "Excuse me".

Curious, Satome followed. The leader of LC strode down a corridor, and went into a room labeled "Restricted".

Sato, not actually being there, walked through the now closed door. PoH was standing there alone, facing Satome.

"I can see you" he said, looking her right in the eyes.

Startled, Sato took a step back, outside the room. 'Did he just say that?' She stepped back in.

"How can you?" Sato asked., seeing if he could also hear her.

"You are not the only one with mysterious powers in this game." He answered cryptically.

"What I want is to make you an offer" he didn't seem threatening, or anything. Just sincere. "I plan on beating this game. In order to do that, I need control. To get control, I need support. To get support, I need power. And you can help me gain that power."

"What do you mean?" Sato was a little skeptical. This man was asking for power after all, and everyone knows how that turns out.

"I mean, I have done a little spying, and the Mages are able to bestow powers on another person, sort of like a Champion for them, if you will."

Satome's eyebrows rose. "Can I even do that When I am not actually here?"

PoH smiled a little. "Yes, you can."

He pulled a piece of chalk from his inventory, and started drawing lines on the ground, making a large pentagram. He then placed a candle at all five points, and stood in the center. His black eyes were alight with anticipation.

"One of my new recruits was previously in a Squad of the Army. Squad Thirteen. He told me of how the White Mage gave one of their own powers beyond compare."

"I'm not sure…" Sato may technically be a bad guy in the Elf War campaign, but that didn't mean she had to actually help someone else dominate over everyone he deemed unworthy.

"I do not want this power to be my own" he said, "I will find ways to share it with my comrades. They deserve it just as much as I do" he shook his head.

"Also, when you are freed from wherever you are being held prisoner, you will be our Messiah. You will be our leading force against the tyranny the Army and Alliance have brought onto the people."

"The Alliance has fallen. Today, a new guild called the Arcane Guard along with the Army toppled them. Lind is no longer in power." Sato argued.

"Incorrect. Their numbers are down to eleven men, including Lind" PoH corrected. "You think he is done fighting? As the old saying goes: Power Corrupts, And Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely. And he has had the Power for far too long."

"Then why should I give you power if it will corrupt? I am sure you are not an exception to that rule." Sato was starting to see his point though.

"Because you will still be stronger than me. Each of the Mages will be able to defeat me with their hands tied behind their backs. I will be powerless against such strong foes, so you have nothing to fear."

"And it will help me protect Zero" PoH was referring to Riko's username. When they started the game, Riko and Sato chose Zero and Infinite as their names respectively.

"Is that a threat" Satome's voice was level and monotonous with the demand. If he was threatening to hurt her if she didn't comply…

"No no no!" He waved his hands. "You misunderstand me. She will naturally be traveling with us from location to location, as we have no set headquarters. There are a lot of HDA and ALF troops patrolling the roads and pathways, and would misunderstand if they saw four or five guys traveling with a single girl, and might attack us."

Satome laughed a little bit, the tension rolling off her. "Good one! Fine. What do I do?"

PoH smiled at her. "That a girl! There is a list of instructions in your [Skill Tree]. All you probably have to do is recite some poem."

Sato found the specified text, and began reading.

 **Bum bum bummmm!**

 **things r gonna get spicy.**

 **originally, this was gonna end at 50 chapters... now thinking to extend to 70-something...**


	50. Chapter 50-Final Chord

**IM BACK!**

 **I wish I could describe my thanks to everyone who kept with me through those months of silence. You are the reason I am here to type. You awesome, dedicated readers. At the end of this chapter, I am going to put a list of everyone who clicked the "alert" button, as a kind of thanks.**

 **other than that, this is the final chapter! Make sure you keep following this story, because when I finish the first chapter of the next one, I will post a link here!**

 **now then, onto the chapter!**

Her hands flew across the pianoforte, striking keys softly and growing in crescendo. The auditorium was silent save for the sonata being played by her, the skilled musician, only of age fourteen.

Sweat glistened down her face, ignored by her absolute concentration as the climax rang true through the hall. No one dared breathe as she hunched forward, barely tapping the ebony and ivory, the notes almost unable to flutter.

Chord after chord after technical run after phrase was pressed from the pianoforte. The despair and loss she felt when composing the piece was fired forcefully into each and every watching and listening member.

She built up another long and smooth crescendo, swaying to the music, closing her eyes and letting her head fling back. She knew this piece by heart, and could play it in her sleep. She was in her own world. She was the only one in this world of her own construct, alone in her mind, her heart, her soul.

She sat still, fingers holding down the final wrenching chord, and someone in the audience let out an involuntary sob. She lifted herself from the black bench, brushed off some imaginary dust off her black mourning dress, bowed, and promptly left.

* * *

Jessica stalked her prey, the darkness shrouding her movements. The underbrush crunched softly beneath her boots as she crouched and moved around the clearing in front of her. Trees and bushes were her cover, her ears her guide, the darkness her friend.

She raised a bow in her hands, staring at the [Black Panther] in a tree about twenty meters from her. She knew she wouldn't be able to take it out with one arrow, even if it struck the beasts head, flying true.

Pulling the taut string back, a shaft between her fingers. The feathers were brought to her lips, the arrow pointed at her intended target. She pursed her lips, and let out a practiced whistle, which was matched across the clearing.

As one, two arrows were shot, one from her, another from her best (and only) friend in this Death Game. Both hit weak points on the panther, killing it almost instantly.

It's body slumped out of the tree where it was lying peacefully, and hit the ground with a thud. She deftly closed the distance between her and it, and pulled out her skinning knife, making quick work of its hide, storing it and the meat in her inventory for later use.

Footfalls that were nearly silent, but still audible, alerted her to her friend's presence. She lifted from her completed task, and nodded towards the other girl, blue haired, blue eyed. Her supple figure and grace enunciated her lethality with a knife, especially the thirteen centimeter blade strapped to her leg.

The other girl returned the nod, eyes then quickly scanned the surrounding tree line, a short check for any hostile who had heard the panther fall.

It's been a week since the Arcane Guard, lead by Kora, felled the great Divine Dragon Alliance. Since then, two floors have been cleared, and the Assault Team wasn't slowing down. It was now headed by Kibaou and his Army, backed by the Guard with its mysterious mages….

She cleared her head with a shake, following her blue haired friend as she lead the way to the closest town to sell the [Black Panther Pelt].

* * *

Asada Shino sat in the crowded cafeteria, hunched over a platter filled with the bland food all schools handed out. She didn't even taste it as she chewed and swallowed, lost in thoughts only she knew.

A few more trays slammed across from her at the round table, and four more girls sat down, all of them with wicked, mischievous grins.

"Yo, Shino!" One of them called out. "You feeling better today?"

Her kind words were laced with a hidden venom that Shino knew very very well, but didn't react to. She just gave a short nod, her gaze lowered.

"Did you hear about the robbery today?" Another said, physically directed towards the other girls, even though the words were meant for Shino.

"No I didn't! What happened?" Came the false reply.

"These seven guys just busted into a bank, holding these big guns, and started shooting people and…"

Shino had stopped listening, knowing exactly what they were up to. She just wished she would be left alone.

"Don't you street-side tramps have anything better to do, like bat your eyelashes at some lousy excuse for an American music artist?"

Shino looked up, eyes wide and thankful at the sight of her best friend, Jessica.

Jessica was tanned, Caucasian, with long, silky black hair. She was confident in herself in almost all of her actions, and was respectful to those who didn't bother or bully Shino. Which was most people, except for these four.

In fact, it's hard for Shino to think of any flaws for her friend.

"Well look, Asada's mutt is back, and snappy as ever" one girl rolled her eyes "seriously, go back to England. At least people here have decency."

"Go back to your street corner. At least people here know not to spread their legs for every guy who slinks by" came the smiling retort.

There was a collective gasp at the table, not used to such brutality, but Jessica had had enough of this.

Jess had lived here in Japan for six years, and previously lived in Great Britain. Here, she was captain of the volleyball team, was the second best runner on the hundred meter sprint on the track team, and still was in the top ten percent GPA wise in the entire country. On top of all of that responsibility, she always found time to compose music, and practice the piano, which she played damn well, along with most woodwinds, violin, viola, and she was currently learning acoustic guitar.

"I was at your concert last night. Seriously? 'Tribute to The Fallen?' Can you not make better names for this trash you call music?" That blonde girl sneered her retort.

Jess quirked an eyebrow. "It was dedicated to my uncle, who served in the United States marines before being killed on duty" her voice was steel, and pointed.

The girl blushed, and left, followed by her friends.

* * *

Her name was no longer Jessica. Here in Sword Art Online, it was 011. Eleven. It was the name of her favorite piece she had written, "Eleventh Symphony." Here she was still the bubbly smiling girl that Sinon knew, although that was just a facade. The real personality underneath was quite unpleasant.

The tall stone walls of Rovia stood before them, the primary settlement on the fourth floor of Aincrad, the floating castle in the sky. NPCs were bustling about, their programming telling them that the meaningless errands they had to complete were of the utmost importance, and they paid Eleven and Sinon no attention as the two Rangers made their way through.

All the houses were made of wooden logs, as that was the most abundant resource here, except for dirt. Near the center of the town, a little tavern and inn, which was called "The Headless Chicken" (probably because no one stood still in this town), stood in its ramshackle glory, their intended target.

Sinon walked with her cowl pulled down, her uniform black cloak helping her blend into the twilight shadows as they neared the door, dodging the crowd by using back alleys.

The door was rotted with age and use as she pushed it open, and threatened to break off its hinges. The pair disregarded it as they trudged in, ignoring the dim lighting, ignored the many people who glanced in their direction, and ignored the absolutely horrid stench of ale and much worse.

They briskly walked to the old stairs, climbing them, and finding a door with their room number, having reserved it earlier that day. Once the barrier was closed, and they were safe from intrusion, both girls threw off the concealing garments with a flourish, sighing in contentment as they flopped onto their respective twin size beds.

"Finally. Some R and R" Eleven groaned, stretching her taut virtual muscles.

"Hai." Came the reply from the other bed. "Too much walking."

Both girls looked at each other, and started giggling.

After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. Eleven checked her HUD, seeing the time. 'Seven thirty. They are punctual' both girls stood, and Eleven opened the door, letting in four teens.

All four were low level, and were recruited from the Town Of Beginnings. All four were nobodies who no one else in this game cared about, and all four had been trampled on by the Alliance and the Army.

"Hello!" Eleven greeted with a smile, and a nod to each of them. "I am Eleven, as you all know. And I am sure you have many questions. I will answer all of them in a moment, but let me go through my speech first."

All four nodded, and shuffled for a place to sit, finding the desk, a chair at the desk, and Sinons bed, as it was the furthest from the door.

"I am creating a guild. A guild that will be known for its swiftness in action, that will be feared throughout Aincrad not because we bully or force people to obey us, but because we will be shrouded in darkness, hiding in the back alleys and underground tunnels of the world, listening, gathering intel, and acting. We will be Kibaous shadow. We will be Heathcliff's personal attendant. We will know everything going on in this damned floating castle, and make use of that info." Her opener was done, and now came the puzzling looks.

But she continued. "Do you think that the Big Three guilds, the Aincrad Liberation Force, the Arcane Guard and the Fuurinkazan care about us? They don't. They will use, subdue, seduce, and seclude all who don't share their agenda. And their agenda is the make themselves and those who they call allies as powerful as possible to keep competition low."

"I heard that Kora was fighting for freedom and equality." This blonde kid flipped some hair out of his eyes with a finger. "We should trust him, and let him do his thing"

Eleven smiled. "I would, if he were really fighting for us, Tryth."

The older teen known as Tryth looked puzzled, his bright blue eyes sparkling in the candlelight. "What do you mean?"

"Well, first off, he knocked a tyrant off of his throne, using the help of another. He is rising in power, and we all know how power corrupts even the purest of souls. Unless of course that person came from the bottom of the totem pole, the runts and outcasts like you…" Eleven made a pointed stare at the four people seated in the room.

"Then what is to keep you from becoming corrupted? If your claims come true, then you will become the most powerful person in SAO." Tryth still seemed very skeptical.

"Because I won't have all the power. You will." Her words dropped like a deadweight on all four people.

"How in bloody hell would we have the power? We would work for you!" Another guy named Siren blurted out.

"Simple. We all will be doing the work. We all will be a part in this group. Yes, I will be the head, and I will make most decisions, but nothing will be done if you don't want to." She got a few nods in return.

"So… why us though?" Tryth questioned. "I am sure Clearers would make better teammates than us. We haven't even started leveling yet! As you said, we are runts"

"Because I have seen something in all four of you. Something that I have seen in myself. A passion to help others." Eleven started another winged speech.

"Each of you has stayed in the Starting Town because you are hindered not by your own prowess, but by your mind. You never believed you could do something, so you didn't even try. But I think each of you is worth more than the entire Assault Team combined. Kirito, Asuna, Heathcliff, Kora, all of it."

"Well, I'm in" said Siren, quickly repeated by Aroma and Nora, the two females who have been silently judging while the males did the questioning.

All eyes were on Tryth, and he seemed to be genuinely pondering this. Eleven silently urged him to accept this offer in her head. She needed his questioning personality, and quick mind, always finding fault with everything. She needed that as a buffer to her confidence and Sinon's stone.

"Fine. When do we start?" He stared at her, meeting her gaze.

"You just did." She answered with a smile.

Opening her inventory, four bows, long close-quarters knives, and black cloaks that matched Eleven's and Sinon's.

"Your weapons are your mind and mouth. Not what you choose to say, what you choose to not say. These are mere tools to help grow your level, which will grow your skills that we need. [Stealth] and [Tracking] should be invested in heavily, along with [Agility] and [Dexterity]. We move fast, we move silently, and only use violence as a last resort. We want them to think what we are capable of, not what we can do, if that makes sense."

Nods of acknowledgement were given from all four heads, and all four took the items strewn on the bed.

"From now on, we are known as the Rangers."

* * *

PoH writhed as pain shot through him like bolts of searing lightning. They sent every nerve into a frenzy, forcing him to squirm on the ground. He opened his mouth to scream, but was unable to do so as all air left his lungs in one vacuum.

Then it stopped. Just as suddenly as it came. He opened an eye with caution, and saw Sato was gone from the storage room. He groaned softly, and stood, grabbing onto a wooden crate.

'For a world without pain, that hurt like a bitch' he thought to himself, now steady on his feet.

*I know, right?*

He stopped. That voice. It was Satome. In his head.

*yeah, so what?*

'You have more attitude than I remember.' He thought, smiling. He ran a hand through his wavy black hair.

*well, I just felt like I gave birth, so you can piss off.*

PoH checked his HUD, and saw a symbol right under his name. It was the symbol for darkness, yami.

The power was his. Now everything would come into place.

* * *

Two people sat at a table in the far back corner of a tavern in the Starting town. The night was alive as word got around that floor five was cleared, and six was already being hit hard, so no one paid these two any heed.

One of them was covered from head to toe in black concealing fabric, from the cold of her cloak pulled down low to the gloves on her hands were placed to keep her identity hidden from everyone else in the room.

Across from Aroma was a well recognizable person, his sandy hair matted with dirt. His once silver armor was scratched and blemished, and almost looked like a dull grey. The luster wasn't just taken out of his plate mail, but also his eyes, having lost an old fire. But a spark remained.

"Well, you brought me here" he spat, after taking a gulp from a mug in front of him. "What do you want?"

"I want to make a deal, Lind." Came the soft and sweet voice, fluttering to his ears like the wings of a butterfly. "I want to make a deal to bring back the Alliance."

Lind squinted. "I'm listening….."

 **Thank you awesome readers! This is it. The finale. The long sustain this orchestral crescendo has been leading to. And now it dies down, as the second movement readies itself...**

 **not for a shout-out to everyone who has followed this story. Thanks to each and every one of you. I wouldn't have done it without you.**

 **AFriendNoFoe, AHSVelocity, Aero Frostmane, Animegirl098, ArcWarden1, ArcumLupus, BahamutTheKing, Dalonijack, Den3424, Dragonjesus2088, E.N.D.18, Evankey, _FailtasticBelt (BAE)_ , GlowinPhanWinchester, Gungrave Company, Jack Redhawke, Lazion, Lord Loptr, Lord necro, Mudkip172, Nashi121, Oathvion, Omegas790, OokamiMoon, REAPER430 Regend, Santtu1324, SoloPlayer339, TehDIGI, The Diabolic Hero, Thunderwolf722, Trason, Trchscgdjgh, WeepingAngels626, WeirdoHasARayGUN, WhiteEagle600, allen Vth, animefairy299, attackonthings, cherryinthebowl, corymerlin, gothgod9415, john904, lianehodgson47, odflou, shadosakushi, thsguy, undertaler6527, zoom10ooo**

 **there is obviously no favorite treatment thing going on *cough cough***

 **and special shoutout to Thunderwolf, FailtasticBelt-kun, gothgod, and Den for all their help in me writing this story.**

 **this is Theawesomess1, signing off for now.**


	51. Book 2

The next book is out! Called Ignis Rex: Champion Of Fire


End file.
